Sinner’s Salvation (Sinners Never Die #3)

Chapter Nine

A nna bowed again, studying the four Chinese vampires. She knew three, but the fourth she’d never seen before. Baz had him pressed against the cement wall, his hand wrapped around the other man’s throat.

He hung limp in her son’s grasp, no struggling or fighting back.

“Ah, I wondered where all those tourists came from.” She smiled, but kept her lips closed. “That was kind of you, Jie Chen.”

The group of Chinese bowed in unison. Even the one Baz held inclined his head as far as he could.

“Are you...well?” Jie Chen asked.

“I am now,” Anna said, but didn’t volunteer any other information.

“Why are you here?” Baz asked, effortlessly holding up the other vampire.

“There is a great deal of unrest among the families. We hoped to be able to discuss these difficulties and work together to find solutions.”

Baz stared at Jie Chen for a moment, dropped the vampire he’d been holding, then stepped back until he was standing only a pace in front of Nika.

“How did you find out the police were looking for us?” Anna asked the woman who led the group. Jie had become a vampire about one hundred years after the Breznik Family had been afflicted. They had several treaties in place. One of them required the Chinese to notify the Breznik Family if they planned to come to New York City.

“Information is easy to obtain if you know where to look and who to talk to.” Jie said, with only the slightest curve of her lips.

What a lovely, polite non-answer hiding a threat.

Still, it was better than the Italian’s approach, who couldn’t be bothered with something as simple as a conversation.

“Was there something of particular interest?” Anna asked. “I haven’t been in the city long, but my son, Bazyli has lived here for years.” She gestured at Baz, who stood with his feet planted shoulder width apart and his arms crossed over his chest. “Perhaps he could help you?”

All four Chinese vampires bowed to her son, lower than they had bowed to her.

Interesting.

“You didn’t decide to meet us down here for shits and giggles.” Baz said, his tone flat, but not hostile. Yet. “Why are you really here?”

Jie glanced at Anna, then glanced at Baz again, before dropping her gaze to the cement floor. “We need your help.”

Baz didn’t relax his posture at all. “With what?”

“One of our family members...” Jie’s voice cracked. “Broke the law.”

“One person?” He made a show of looking at each of them. “There are four of you, and more at home. Why do you need my help?”

Jie visibly shook. The vampire Baz had grabbed by the throat took a half step forward and bowed. “What we mean to say is, our family member went to the Chinese government and revealed herself to them. We believe she is dead now, killed in an effort to determine the mechanism of her enhanced healing and strength. They know that there are people who have enhanced abilities.”

“You’re being hunted?” Anna asked.

The man bowed to her. “Yes. We’ve come here with our entire household.”

“Why would you come here, with all your dependents, without talking to us first?” Baz asked, in the same flat tone.

“We are fortunate to get here at all,” the male said. “The Chinese military arrived to storm our most remote stronghold only minutes after our plane took off.”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Baz said.

“You...” The younger vampire glanced at Jie, who nodded. “You protect your people, your vampires, your potentials, and your normal humans. You defeated the South Americans, and repelled the British. You are the strongest.”

Baz sighed and rolled his eyes. “This again?”

Next to him, Nika chuckled. “He’s right, though.”

“We can help you,” Jie said. “As we just did on the train platform.”

“How long do you think it will be before one of you disagrees with me or a member of my family?” Baz asked. “And kills someone or does something visible to the world?”

“You are the strongest,” Jie said, and bowed.

The other Chinese vampires bowed again, and stayed bent over.

Anna studied them. Their bodies were stiff and hands clenched.

They’re desperate .

Desperate people do dangerous things. She glanced at Baz, who met her gaze and raised an eyebrow.

She could almost read his mind from the arch of that eyebrow.

Are they serious?

She nodded.

This is a bad idea.

Anna tilted her head to one side and smiled.

Baz turned back to the Chinese, shaking his head. “Where the fuck are we going to put everyone?” he asked.

“Yvgeny has more than one hotel,” Nika said.

“They looked like a bunch of tourists to me,” Brian said to no one in particular.

But of course, the Chinese vampires couldn’t see him, and straightened up. They looked even more wary than before.

Anna waved Brian around the corner.

He stepped forward until he was visible to everyone, and waved. “Hello.”

“This is Brian Stettler,” Anna said. “He’s Yvgeny’s assistant, and an FBI agent.”

The Chinese vampires stared at him as if he were a bomb about to go off.

Brian blinked, then put his hands up. “Whoa, please don’t panic. I’m on your side.” He paused for a moment, then muttered, “I can’t believe I just said that.”

Baz had been watching the Chinese. “How did you get into this tunnel system?”

“We have known about it since it was built,” Jie said. She gestured at one of the vampires standing behind her. “Ho was in the work crew.”

“I found the improvements made to secure the doors very effective,” Ho said.

“How effective can they be if they didn’t keep you out? Baz asked.

The vampire bowed. “I have made a study of such things.”

One of the other vampires put a hand to his ear. “Where should the tour groups go? The police are becoming irritated with them.”

“How many people are there in your tour groups ?”

“Sixty-seven,” Jie replied.

Baz thought about it for a moment. “Have them come to the main hotel. Let’s keep up the mirage of them really being tourists from China. We’ll have them gather in one of the ballrooms, and give them an insider’s guide to New York talk.”

Jie nodded and spoke into a lapel microphone in rapid Mandarin.

“Let’s get to the hotel,” Baz said, gesturing at their Chinese guests to turn around and precede them.

They did so slowly, glancing back every few seconds. When Evan came around the corner, bringing up the rear. The Chinese all paused for a moment.

“You have the support of the military, too?” Ho asked.

“Just him,” Anna said.

Evan nodded in agreement. “I understand what you are,” he said to the Chinese. “I will end you permanently if you do anything to threaten the Breznik Family.”

Anna stared at him in shock. Making threats like that was a fast way to getting killed. She’d have to talk to him about approaching other vampires with a healthy sense of self-preservation.

Baz just laughed. “Yeah, yeah, tough guy. Let’s go.”

Everyone began walking again.

As tense as they’d been before meeting the Chinese, everyone was even more tense now. The Chinese kept glancing back, checking to see if anyone had moved from their original position in the line as they walked.

She understood what drove them to be so paranoid. Having some paranoia about the situation was healthy. It kept you alert and on your toes, ready to react no matter the provocation, but it was also tiresome, and could lead to mistakes or errors of judgement if you weren’t getting enough rest.

All they needed was some normal human getting killed because they did something that a vampire considered threatening.

They navigated a couple more forks in the tunnel, always taking the right hand turns.

“How many places does this tunnel system go to?” Nika asked.

“Not all of them go anywhere. Yvgeny blocked off a couple due to later construction or when a building changed hands,” Baz explained.

Jie cleared her throat. “We did something similar in China, only we tunneled under the landscape.”

Anna almost stumbled. She’d never seen the Chinese offer up information so freely before. Had their government frightened them that badly? Or had disaster already struck?

“Did you lose any people?” Anna asked.

“Grandmother chose to stay behind and detonate the bombs under our home.”

It was worse than she thought. Much worse. Their home had been full of rare art and artifacts. And grandmother An had been a wise and respected elder. Her loss would be felt for many years to come.

They reached a closed doorway.

“Did you come in this way?” Baz asked.

“Yes. We were careful. No one saw us.”

“Do you mind?” Baz asked, gesturing toward the door.

The Chinese backed away a few steps.

Baz opened the panel next to the door and typed in a code. There was a click, and the door swung open.

Mason stood in the doorway with a big fancy rifle in his hands. As soon as he saw Baz, he dropped the business end so it pointed at the floor. He checked over their group before frowning at the Chinese.

“I apologize,” Mason said, looking at Baz, then Anna. “They got through the door before we could stop them.”

“They got us out of a rough spot,” Baz said. “We’re in negotiations. There will be a large number of Chinese tourists, who aren’t tourists, arriving at the hotel shortly. Treat them like a tour group. Set up the ballroom for them with refreshments and someone who can provide a summary of the top places to see in the city.”

Mason nodded and looked the Chinese vampires over with a critical eye. “Will they be staying with us?”

Baz looked at Jie, who gave him a slight nod. “Book them in for three nights for now. Keep them on the same floor if possible.”

“Yes, sir.”

“We’re also going to have a bunch of nosy nellies arriving. FBI, Homeland Security, NYPD, and possibly some military types. Cooperate, and tell them Yvgeny is away on vacation. You haven’t seen Anna or Brian and you’re concerned. Contact the FBI and ask them if they know where Brian is.”

Mason turned to go, but Baz stopped him with a gesture. “Also, the Italians have lost their minds. They might do something stupid.”

Mason nodded and moved out of the doorway. He climbed a set of metal steps embedded in the wall on the other side of the door. Above him was an open hatchway.

Baz followed Mason, then the Chinese vampires went up. Nika, Brian, and Anna followed, with Evan bringing up the rear again. The room they’d climbed up into was small, the size of a janitor’s closet, but empty of any equipment.

Once they were all through the hatch, Baz closed it. A distinct click echoed through the small space.

“Where are we?” Brian asked.

“The emergency stairway.” He opened the only door, revealing the metal staircase that went up fifty-two floors.

Their Chinese guests didn’t hesitate the begin the climb behind Baz, but she noticed Evan looking around before he brought up the rear again.

She wanted to talk to him, gauge his reactions to all this, but she needed to stay where she was, between their guests and the vulnerable human members of their party.

They climbed floor after floor, and she heard Brian and Nika’s breathing become labored. Evan’s breathing was deeper than before, but steady, and his footsteps never faltered.

Normally, with people she didn’t know well behind her, she wouldn’t have been comfortable, but Evan was behind her too, and he...gave her peace of mind.

Which, if thinking about it logically, was stupid. He was a US Army Intelligence officer. A spy, assassin, and interrogator all rolled into one. He could be pretending to be on her side to obtain more information.

But his grandfather had been a steadfast, loyal friend, and Baz had fought with him. He’d done things he didn’t have to, put his life in danger, to help her and Brian.

She needed to keep reminding herself that he could be a threat. She needed to keep an eye on him. She needed...him.

The memory of drinking from him flooded her mind. The flavor of his blood blossomed on her tongue. So rich and smooth. Delicious, and he gave it freely, turning the act of feeding into one of sensual pleasure.

By the time Baz stopped and opened another door, they were only a few floors from the top. He paused to look at everyone below him on the stairs.

“This is our guest suite for visiting families,” Baz said. “There are cameras, but no recording. He nodded at the Chinese. “Do you or any of your people need burner phones?”

“Yes,” the vampire she didn’t know said.

“How many?” Baz asked.

“One for everyone.”

“Okay, we’ll add them as a gift during the what to do in New York talk.” He opened the door, which was narrower than standard, and stepped through it.

They were in a small hallway with two doors opposite them.

Baz opened the door on the left. Everyone followed him inside. It was a luxurious suite, with a small kitchen in one corner, a sitting area, and two bedrooms. The furniture was all a rich white leather with chrome fixtures and red accents.

“There is no public access to this suite,” Baz said. “If you want to meet with any of your people who will be coming into the hotel, we’ll have to make arrangements for you to do that in a different part of the building or outside the hotel.”

“We understand.”

“Give us a couple of hours to determine the situation here with law enforcement, police, military, and Italians.” Baz rubbed the back of his neck. “There are a lot of moving parts to this situation.”

Jie bowed and gestured toward the vampire Baz had collared earlier. “Ho is young and is skilled with computers. Please allow him to assist you. We do not wish to be a burden.”

Anna had to hold herself back from refusing the offer.

They’d stated that because of Baz’s strength, this is where they came for help. Baz was dealing with them and doing well. If they didn’t follow his orders, they certainly weren’t going to follow hers.

Next to her, Evan shifted his weight slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see he’d put his hand on his sidearm. Getting ready to fight.

“Thank you, but until we check out your story, I will ask all of you to remain here.”

They didn’t look happy to hear that.

“What would you do if our positions are reversed?” Baz asked. He let them think about it.

“You are correct.” Jie bowed, and the others followed her lead.

“If you need anything, call the front desk and ask for the concierge. This suite includes that as a service.”

“Thank you.” More bows. Then finally they went into the secret staircase and went up another floor.

Yvgeny’s suite was on the other side of the building and took up almost all of that floor. Once they were all inside, Baz gave her his full attention.

“You need to shower and change clothes.”

Anna nodded. “I want some photos taken first.” She took off the watch cap she’d been wearing.

“Photos?” Baz asked, with both eyebrows raised.

“I look horrible, do I not?”

“Yes, but —”

“I have no intention of meeting with anyone from Homeland Security, but I want some evidence of the assault on me so our lawyers can take action.”

“Okay, that might shut some of them up for five minutes.”

“I need to send the photos to someone from the embassy,” she told him. “I want this to be done through the correct channels, so that weasel can’t wiggle out of the consequences of his actions.”

Baz grinned. “That is a great idea.” He pulled out his phone and began texting. “I’m having Mason contact the embassy. While we’re waiting, why don’t I take the pictures now and transfer them to you. You really do look like you fought a war today.”

“Fine,” she huffed.

Baz took photos of her head and neck. Some bruising was still visible, along with the blood, now crusty, in her hair. The burns on her shoulder and arm were still awful looking as well. Blistered and red. Baz took photos of them too. “I think we should say that he did shoot you, but he only nicked you, causing a lot of blood, but not a lot of damage. You passed out thanks to the shock of being attacked.”

“I got shot too,” Brian said. “Maybe we could say that he missed because I pushed her out of the way.”

Anna turned to him. “You did try to push me out of the way.”

Brian blinked. “You remember that?”

“I have an eidetic memory. It took a while before I remembered that, but I do remember it.”

“Brian, can I get some pictures of you, too?” Baz asked.

“Sure, anything to stick to that asshole, Ledger,” Brian said, lifting his arm to show off the bullet hole and blood on his clothing. Then he took his suit jacket off and shirt to display his bandaged wound. “Do I have to take this off?” he asked, pointing at the bandage.

“No. You’re going to get checked out by a doctor at some point, probably because the FBI insist. That will be good enough.”

“Awesome.”

He posed for a couple more pictures, then yawned. “Can I go get cleaned up and grab some sleep?”

“Sure,” Baz said. “You can either use Yvgeny’s spare room...or the safe room, if you prefer. You remember where that is?”

Brian snorted. “Like I could forget about the secret safe room.”

“Actually,” Anna said. “Perhaps you should sleep in the safe room.”

Brian shook his head. “No, I want to be available in case the FBI need to see me or talk to me. Right now, they don’t know what’s going on.”

“Evan and I will rest in the safe room then,” Anna said.

“Good,” Baz agreed. “Let’s keep both of you out of sight, and you can keep an eye on what’s happening in the hotel from there.”

“You’ve got a security feed in this safe room?” Evan asked.

“There’s a whole wall of screens with feeds from cameras all over the hotel,” Baz told him, with a smile.

“I’m going to take that shower while you show Evan around,” Anna said.

The men all nodded at her.

As she entered Yvgeny’s bedroom she heard Evan say, “Nice.”

He was probably looking at the entrance to the safe room. Men were always impressed with clever engineering.

She stripped off her borrowed clothing, folding it neatly and leaving it on the toilet seat. It didn’t take long for the water in the shower to get hot. She stepped inside and basked in the sensation hot water made against her skin. It washed away more than the blood. It reminded her that she’d survived, again. Survived another man who saw someone who was different and believed their tyrannical control gave them the power to use her in any way he wanted.

There had been many men like that in her long, long life. Many who looked at her and saw a woman, saw weakness, saw a weapon. Others had only fear once they understood she was a monster.

Fear and greed. They weighed a lot. They sat on her shoulders and there were days when she didn’t think she could resist their pull down into the dirt.

A knock at the door.

“Yes?”

It opened a crack. “Anna,” Evan said. “Do you need anything?”

She thought about it. “No, I have everything I need.”

“Let me know if that changes.” He closed the door.

He hadn’t said that sentence in a flirty tone, but she halfway wished he had.

She snorted at her own silliness. Like they had time to indulge in...what? Hot sweaty sex? Was that enough, or did she want more from him? Something to consider.

It had been a long time since so many things had gone wrong at once. Since World War II, actually. The stakes were even higher now.

Their entire existence was on the line.

It took a couple of washes to get all the blood out of her hair using Yvgeny’s handmade, unscented soap. She almost felt young again when she stepped out and toweled dry.

By the time she’d put on the same clothes and brushed out her hair, her youthful energy was gone.

Anna opened the bathroom door and found Evan leaning against the wall opposite the bathroom door.

“Is there a problem?” she asked him.

“No, just standing guard.”

She studied his face and saw nothing of note at first. Then she saw a slight tightening at the corners of his mouth. He was worried. About her.

“Turn around,” he said. “Please.”

She turned slowly, taking several seconds to complete the motion.

He wasn’t leaning against the wall anymore, he’d moved a couple of steps closer to her.

Both his hands came up, as if to cradle something, but paused at his waist level. “May I...?”

Oh, he wanted to check her head. “Of course.”

He moved faster than she thought he would. Then he was in her personal space, his body brushing hers and his hands in her hair. His fingers threaded through her wet strands and cupped the back of her head. He pressed gently against her skull. Searching.

His movements were frantic at first, but slowed as he found nothing amiss. Finally, he looked down and met her gaze. He rested his forehead against hers.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “You looked pretty bad before and I don’t know how the healing thing works.”

She stepped into him, wrapped her arms around him, and just let herself rest in his arms. His hands slid down her body to wrap around her.

He was warm and solid, and she wanted nothing more than to stand there with him, wrapped in each other, for the next decade or so.

How long ago had she been last held like this? Years? Many years. His grandfather had hugged her. Hadn’t been afraid. Had treated her like family.

“Are you...okay?” he asked in a whisper in her ear.

“Yes, are you?” she whispered back.

He pulled his head away from hers, just far enough for him to look down at her. He slowly lowered his head, his gaze locked on her lips.

She could stop him if she wanted to. She didn’t want to.

Their lips met in a slow soft slide that was less than a second away from turning into a raging forest fire when someone knocked on the door.

They pulled apart, looked at the door, then at each other.

He stepped back, looked at her, then paused. “I...uh, messed up your hair.”

She flashed him a grin and went into the bathroom to brush it out.

Evan opened the door, letting someone inside.

“Is my Mom ready?” Baz asked.

She poked her head out of the bathroom, still brushing her hair. “Almost.”

He studied her for a moment. “You look like you could be my younger sister.”

“Should I take that as a compliment?” she asked. She wasn’t sure how he meant that.

“Police and FBI have entered the hotel. They’re looking for Brian.”

“Just him?”

“So far.”

“Homeland isn’t with them?” Evan asked.

“Not so far. All their ID checked out, but I suppose one of the FBI agents could really be Homeland.” Baz waved at the door. “You two need to head to the safe room.”

Anna nodded and led the way to the closet. She opened the trapdoor to the safe room. She glanced at Evan.

He had a huge smile on his face. “Nice.”

The stairs descended into darkness, steep enough to treat them like ladder rungs. She started down, with Evan following right behind her.

The room below was pitch black, and she had to find the light switch by feel.

There it was.

She flipped it on and watched Evan’s reaction as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

He looked around the room, then focused on the twenty-four monitor screens on the far wall. Next to each screen was a card describing its location within the hotel.

Above them, Baz closed the hidden door.

“How do we turn this on?” Evan asked, gesturing at the screens.

There was a table with a couple of chairs in front of the screens. On the table were a couple of computers and a row of switches that looked like a power bar. She flipped one and all the screens came to life.

There was activity on all the screens. The lobby, elevators, parking garage, and public areas on the first three floors all contained people in some kind of uniform. There were a few in hotel security black, but they were outnumbered.

Anna took a seat and Evan sat in the other one.

“This is a nice setup,” he said, almost absently, studying the screens intensely.

“My nephew is very detail oriented.”

“Is that another word for paranoid?”

“Maybe, but this is the second time in the last couple of days this room has needed to be used, so I don’t think I can complain about the paranoia.”

“Yeah, I’m thinking he was right,” Evan said. “The lobby has, what, a dozen cops in it? Where are the FBI agents?”

“In the elevator.” She pointed at another screen. “They’re on their way up to Yvgeny’s apartment.”

“That didn’t take long.”

“No.” She looked at the screens with the feed from the entrances of the hotel. All of them were clogged with police, police cars, and police on horseback. “We were very lucky to make it back here.”

“I wonder what that asshole told everyone,” Evan said.

“That is an excellent question,” Anna said, touching the keyboard to wake the computer. She found the controls for all the camera feeds and turned the sound on for the one in the elevator.

It was full of six FBI agents and Mason. All the agents stared at Mason, a couple of them with their hands on their guns.

No one said a word the whole ride up.

When the elevator chimed and everyone got out, Anna switched the sound to the feed from Yvgeny’s apartment.

“Sir,” Mason said to Baz, as he got off the elevator and led the contingent of FBI agents into the space. “These gentlemen are looking for Brian Stettler.”

One of the agents looked Baz up and down, taking in his extremely casual clothing, and snorted. “This is the guy in charge?”

“Temporarily,” Baz said. “Don’t worry, I’m just as unhappy about it as you are.”

“Where is Yvgeny Breznik?” the agent asked.

“He’s out of the country on vacation right now.” Baz glanced at Mason. “I thought you said they wanted to talk to Brian?”

“That’s what he said,” Mason agreed.

“We would like to speak with Mr. Yvgeny Breznik, Mr. Stettler, and a Ms. Breznik,” the agent said.

“Don’t you mean FBI Special Agent Stettler?” Baz asked.

All the FBI agents froze. “Excuse me?” the mouthpiece agent asked.

“Everyone in the room, everyone in the building knows he works for you.” Baz walked over to the guest room door and knocked on it. He smiled, and it wasn’t a nice smile. “Everyone.”

A couple of seconds later, Brian opened the door. He’d showered, but he’d put his bloody clothes on again.

“What? I haven’t slept in...” he seemed to notice the FBI agents standing around the apartment. “Oh, hi,” he said, with a little wave. “You’re FBI?”

“Yes,” the same agent who’d been doing all the talking replied.

“What a coincidence, so am I.” Brian smiled in a way that made him look like he wasn’t all there. “Why are you guys here?”

The mouthpiece agent’s jaw dropped. “To make sure you’re still alive. To find out what happened...to you.” He glanced around the room. “To question those responsible.”

“Great! Start with a Homeland Security agent named Ledger,” Brian said. “But be careful, the guy is one of those conspiracy theorist nuts.”

The agent stared at Brian for several seconds before he spoke again. “What conspiracy theory?”

Brian blinked, then shook his head. “You know, he wasn’t very coherent about that.”

“What happened to you?” the agent asked. “You’ve got blood all over your clothes.”

“Ledger shot me while I was trying to stop him from shooting a diplomat from Slovenia.”

All the FBI agents reacted to that. Some shifted their weight, others crossed their arms over their chests.

“Would that diplomat be Anna Breznik?” the lead FBI agent asked.

“Yes, luckily I managed to push her out of the way, or mostly out of the way. The bullet nicked the back of her head. He got me in the arm.” Brian lifted his hands to his dirt and blood smeared suit jacket. “May I?”

The agent, the frown on his face large enough to rival the Grand Canyon, nodded. All the other agents crowded closer behind him, watching Brian closely.

He carefully removed his suit jacket, wincing when he lifted his injured arm. Then he unbuttoned his shirt and pulled that off, too. There were a bunch of large Band-Aids on his arm. They didn’t quite cover the entire bullet wound.

Some blood had soaked through the Band-Aids and around the edges.

All the FBI agents looked at his injury and began muttering to each other. Anna couldn’t make out individual words, but the tone was clear enough. None of them were happy about what they were hearing and seeing.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call my supervisor earlier,” Brian said. “But Ledger took my phone. I didn’t expect anyone from the FBI to come looking for me, since Ledger told me he told you I died in a car accident?”

“Goddamned Homeland Security,” one of the agents at the back of the pack muttered, louder now.

“Did he?” Brian asked, again.

“At first,” the lead agent admitted. “But he changed his story, accused you of being involved in a terrorist plot.”

Brian laughed. “To what? Shoot myself?” He shook his head again. “I may be sleep deprived, but even I know that’s a stupid accusation.”

“Where is Anna Breznik?” one of the other agents asked.

“The last I saw her was on a subway platform. She said she was going to her embassy.” Brian blinked a couple of times. “How did you know she was with me?”

“Security cameras,” the lead agent said. “She went to her embassy?”

“That’s what she said she wanted to do.” He gave the room at large a slightly fuzzy smile. “She’s a tough lady. I wouldn’t want to be in Ledger’s shoes when she goes to the State Department to tell them he kidnapped and shot both of us.”

“How did you get to this hotel?”

“I took the subway,” Brian said, with no hesitation.

“You were spotted on security cameras at a station not far from here, but only once. You don’t show up on any of the street cameras.”

Brian shrugged. “I’m sorry?”

“How did you get here?”

“Like I said, subway and my own two feet.”

“Neither of you went to a hospital,” one of the other agents said.

“How did you manage to get out of a military base unseen?” another asked.

“Where did you go once you were off the base?” yet another asked.

“Whoa, whoa,” Brian said, putting up both his hands in a stop gesture. “Maybe we should be having this conversation in a more formal setting, so it can be recorded.”

“Shit,” Evan said, between clenched teeth. “That’s a terrible idea.”

Anna stared at him. “They wouldn’t do anything to him. Would they? He’s one of their agents.”

He met her gaze. “That depends on how good an actor Ledger is and how many favors he called in. Or bought.”

“Any story he’s come up with can be disproved.”

“Any?” Evan asked, a small smile on his lips.

“Vampirism, as the general public understands it, doesn’t exist,” Anna said. “Most people think it’s the result of magic or some supernatural force. In reality, we suffer from an autoimmune disease that has a lot of unexpected side effects. Ledger doesn’t know that. All he knows is what he thought he saw.”

“But he doesn’t know how it works,” Evan said softly.

“No, he doesn’t. He thinks it’s magic. He doesn’t know all the drawbacks and limitations to having the disorder. All he sees is the possibility of power, and it’s blinded him to everything else. I’ve seen it happen to people time and again. It comes at a price most can’t afford.”

Evan studied her face. “If you had been given a choice, would you have...” He didn’t finish his sentence.

“Would I have chosen to become what I am?” she asked.

At his nod, she shook her head. “No. I would have rather died at the end of a normal lifetime. Living forever is very lonely.”

He reached over and covered her hand with one of his. “My grandfather told me he saw that in you on more than one occasion. He told me not to envy you.”

“He did? Did he say why?”

“He said, think about watching your friends suffer from wounds, illness, and die, while you have to stand by helplessly and watch them go .” Evan squeezed her hand. “It’s a special kind of torture, that.”

She nodded, too many tears choking her throat to speak.

“That’s okay,” Brian said, cutting into the silence.

Anna looked at the screen.

“All I know is what my supervisor told me,” Brian continued. Then his eyes lit up. “Have him sit in on the meeting.”

The lead FBI agent sighed. “I don’t think that’s necessary. You’re...obviously telling the truth.”

“But he really does know more background information than I do.” Brian managed to look so much like a puppy trying to please his people, Anna laughed.

It was a waterlogged sound, but still a laugh.

“He’s good,” Evan said.

“He’s very earnest. My nephew told me it was one of the qualities he found so appealing about Brian.”

“He isn’t jaded yet.”

“That too, but there are some people who never lose that innocence.”

Evan looked at her again with one eyebrow raised.

She smiled. “You’re an entirely different personality. You’re more complicated.”

Evan chuckled. “Is that a good thing?”

“Good or bad, makes no difference. You’re you.”

His smile dimmed, and he raised an eyebrow. “What am I?”

“You’re a warrior whose crusade is justice. You don’t see the world in just black and white, but in shades of gray. You’re happy to let people do what they’re going to do, but once someone steps into the black.” She snapped her fingers. “They’re done.”

He didn’t look happy.

“What I mean to say is, you have a strong moral code and nothing will make you break it.”

His eyebrows rose, as if he wasn’t sure if he believed her.

“We wouldn’t be here if that weren’t the case,” she added.

Someone’s cell phone rang. One of the FBI agents pulled his out and answered it. He murmured a couple of single word replies, then ended the call.

“Homeland is coming up in the elevator,” the agent said. “The NYPD have every exit blocked, and a bunch of military vehicles just double parked in front of the hotel.”

The lead FBI agent rubbed his face with both hands. “Shit.”

“Moments like these are why I put on a ballistic vest every morning,” Baz said to Nika, loud enough for everyone to hear. He pulled his shirt down to show her the edge of his vest.

“Of course you do, Baz, you drive a yellow cab in New York City. The average New Yorker is a lot more dangerous than anyone in the FBI, Homeland Security, or military.”

Everyone in the room looked at her.

Baz asked the question on everyone’s face. “Why is that?”

She smiled. “They’re not in uniform and their guns aren’t worn openly.”

He nodded. “My point exactly.”

The elevator chimed.

“This should be interesting,” Evan said. “I kind of wish I had popcorn.”

“This is going to be a poop performance,” Anna said.

Evan laughed. “Shitshow. We say shitshow .”

“This entire country is too preoccupied with shit.”

The elevator door opened and a half-dozen men in suits strode out like they were certain they were in enemy territory, with their hands on their guns.

Ledger was in the lead.

He saw Brian and headed right for him, but the lead FBI agent stepped in front of him.

“Get out of my way,” Ledger snarled, with an oddly shrill edge to his voice.

“No, I don’t think I will,” the FBI agent said. “Agent Stettler has provided more context to the situation. And frankly, his account of events makes a hell of a lot more sense than yours.”

Ledger bared his teeth. “He’s lying.”

“He’s got a gunshot wound to his arm,” the agent pointed at Brian. “And he says you shot him.”

Ledger stepped into the agent’s personal space until he was nose to nose with the other man. “That man is a material witness in a terrorism case, and he’s coming with me.”

The FBI agent put his hand on his sidearm. “There isn’t an open case like you’ve described, I checked.”

“I’ll say if there’s a case or not, Agent ,” Ledger made the man’s title sound like an insult. “Just because your security clearance isn’t high enough to know the details, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”

“Ooh,” Evan hissed. “That’s a low blow.”

Anna rolled her eyes. Men were so weird. “They look like they’re going to shoot each other.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Baz said, raising his voice and walking over to push the two men apart.

Huh, she wasn’t the only one concerned with their behavior.

“Back off, both of you. Get your hands off your guns. Nobody is shooting anybody. The owner of this hotel, Yvgeny Breznik, left strict instructions about that. I don’t give a shit if you two want to start the fight at the OK Corral down on the street, but you’re not doing it in here.”

“Who the hell are you?” Ledger asked, frowning at Baz.

“I’m Bazyli Breznik. My cousin, Yvgeny, owns this bui—”

Ledger pulled his gun out and shot Baz in the chest. The sound hit Anna’s head loud enough to make her duck.

Baz fell to the floor.

Nika, the FBI agents, and the Homeland Security agents all pulled their guns on each other.

“What the fuck ?” Nika shouted at Ledger.

“Shit,” Evan breathed. “That’s got to hurt.”

“It’s a good thing he’s wearing that vest,” Anna said, shaking her head. “What if that idiot had shot him in the head, like he did to me?”

Evan tilted his head. “A very good thing. Was Baz expecting this?”

Anna shrugged. “Yvgeny has safe rooms and escape routes and Baz wears body armor. We all have our own way of coping with our paranoia.”

Evan gave her a half grin. “It’s not paranoia if it happens.”

“Stop,” she said, waving one hand at him with a shooing motion. “Now you sound like Bazyli.”

Another shot rang out.

Had no one disarmed that moron? Or had the second shot come from a different part of the hotel?

There were people from four different groups in the hotel now, all of them armed. Most of them were on the ground floor, but a few had wandered to other floors, looking for who knew what.

Anna studied the screens. Where, where, where...there !

In Yvgeny’s apartment, Nika stumbled backward and hit the wall. She slid down it, leaving a wide streak of blood behind on the wall.

Oh, no .

Baz, who had been trying to get up from the floor, but not making much of an effort because getting shot while wearing a ballistic vest still hurt, finally pushed to his feet.

“Nika!” he shouted, and shoved the men between him and her out of his way.

“Look at him,” Ledger screamed as he struggled with two FBI agents trying to subdue him. One of them finally took his gun away from him, but Ledger twisted out of the grip of the other with a wide smile on his face. “See, see, I told you. He’s not human and neither is she. She’s his girlfriend. She’ll be fine.”

Baz tore open Nika’s shirt. Blood coated the left side of her torso, trickling down from a hole in her chest. “Someone call 9-1-1,” he shouted. “She’s bleeding like a stuck pig.”

Brian knelt next to Nika and put his hands over Baz’s. “I’ve got this, go rip that asshole a new one.”

Baz stared at Brian and the expression on his face froze Anna in place. She’d seen him look like that only once in their very long lives. It was right after his wife and son had been murdered.

Baz had gone on a killing spree that had lasted for weeks.

He got to his feet and turned toward Ledger, who was still yelling. Something about how he’d discovered that there were real vampires in the world, and they were the secret to eternal life.

“I’m not some fairytale creature, you fucking moron,” Baz snarled at him as he pulled his shirt up. “I’m wearing a ballistic vest, or I would be bleeding out like the woman you just shot.” He patted his chest until he found the bullet, still nestled in an indent in the vest.

He threw the piece of metal into Ledger’s face. “She is an NYPD Detective .”

Ledger’s triumphant expression didn’t waiver.

“You shot a cop, you stupid fuck. In front of witnesses, while spouting insane bullshit.”

The elevator dinged. A couple of paramedics with a gurney and two men in cheap suits and wearing NYPD badges came out.

The first responders went straight for Nika, and the policemen followed them more slowly. Until they saw who was on the floor, bleeding.

“NYPD,” one of them said as they both pulled their guns. “What happed to her?”

The detectives looked around, their gazes snagging on the various law enforcement people standing around, most of them had their guns out.

Their gazes snagged on Baz, his rucked up shirt, and his enraged face.

Anna saw the moment on their faces, as they realized Baz was confronting the man who shot their team member. Both of them moved to flank Baz slightly behind and to the right and left of him.

“This could get messy,” Evan said, getting to his feet. “Baz is a laid back, patient guy...until he isn’t.”

“He won’t hurt anyone,” Anna said, completely confident in that statement.

“Every man has his breaking point,” Evan said. “If she dies, he might reach his.”

“He reached his a long time ago, and he’s still punishing himself for what he did then. Anger will never rule him again, but—” she said, with a sigh. “If he should decide that the safety of others outweighs the crime of murder, he will destroy whoever is threatening that safety.”

“Yeah,” Evan drawled. “That sounds like Baz. His own safety he doesn’t care about. Other people’s, however, he’ll go to the ends of the Earth to protect them.”

The FBI agents had Ledger face down on the floor now and were putting handcuffs on him.

They pulled him upright by his arms.

Baz was in his face as soon as he was vertical. “Look,” Baz ordered, pointing at the growing pool of blood on the floor. “ Look what you did .” He grabbed Ledger by the back of his neck and dragged him a couple of steps closer so the agent could see just how much blood was on the floor.

“If she dies,” Baz snarled at him. “I will rip your lying tongue out of your mouth.”

“Well,” Anna said, with a wince. “Perhaps hurting is back on the table. I don’t think he’ll kill anyone, though.”

Evan crossed his arms over his chest. “I want to go in there and knock some sense into all those people.”

“I feel the same, but if we show ourselves, the whole situation will become even more complicated than it is.”

Baz shoved Ledger away from him, then shook his hands like he was trying to launch any stray Ledger molecules that might be left behind off his skin. “Get this asshole out of here,” he shouted at the FBI agents.

The elevator dinged again, but the two police detectives blocked Anna’s line of sight.

“We still have questions for Agent Stettler,” one of Homeland Security agents said. “A bomb was detonated at the Fort Hamilton base. We’re trying to ascertain who did it, how they did it, and if there’s a possibility more high value assets might be targeted.”

Three tall men with buzz cuts and in Army camo uniforms surfaced out of the chaos. After a look around, the one in the middle said something too softly for the microphone to pick up.

One man went back to the elevator and leaned against the wall to one side of the door. The other wandered over to see what the paramedics were doing. The one in the middle was now staring at Baz.

“How is he supposed to know?” Baz growled. “Ledger kidnapped him and a diplomat from Slovenia, then shot both of them.” He pointed at Ledger. “It seems to me like the FBI have caught the guy responsible for this clusterfuck.”

The soldier watching Baz marched over to him. “Bazyli Breznik?”

Baz turned, a snarl on his face and anger in his fists. Recognition slapped his face, and he rocked back on his feet. “Aaron Marek?”

The soldier put out his hand, and Baz shook it without hesitation.

“Uh oh,” Evan said. “This is not good.”

“What do you mean, not good?” Anna asked.

“That soldier talking to Baz? He’s my commanding officer. He’s the one who signed the order sending me here. He’s smart, observant, and questions everything.” Evan frowned. “And he’s supposed to be in the Middle East right now.”

“Did I hear the word kidnap ?” Marek asked.

“Yeah,” Baz answered, before anyone else could. “This guy, Ledger,” Baz pointed at the man. “kidnapped an FBI agent and a foreign diplomat because he thought they were vampires. He shot both of them in an effort to prove it. Then he comes here and shoots an NYPD Detective screaming that she’s a vampire too.” Baz gestured at Nika, who the paramedics were just strapping onto the gurney. “He also shot me, but I was wearing a vest.”

“Why are you wearing a vest?” Marek asked, sounding only mildly interested. “You’re not in the military anymore.”

“I drive a yellow cab,” Baz said, as if the reason was obvious. “I always wear one.”

Marek nodded. “Right, right, and I suppose you still have that near compulsion to be armored up.”

The paramedics started rolling the gurney toward the elevator.

“I need to go with her,” Baz said.

Marek put a palm flat on Baz’s chest, stopping him before he could move. “Why?”

“She’s my girlfriend.” Then he shook his head.

“Either she is or she isn’t,” Marek said. “Make up your mind.”

“Girlfriend isn’t the right word. She’s more than that.”

“The love of your life?” Marek offered with a small smile.

“Yeah, that’s it.”

Marek shook his head. “I wish I could let you ride with your lady, but I need someone to explain what’s going on here, and you seem to be the most rational person in the room.” Marek looked around at the assembled agents, detectives, and soldiers standing in around in a multi-million dollar apartment with blood all over the floor and one wall. “So, that’s got to tell you how...precarious the situation is.”

“Come on, Baz,” Evan whispered. “Give him what he wants. It’s the fastest route to getting out of there.”

Baz studied Marek’s face, then took in the rest of the people in the room.

Finally, he took in a deep breath. “Brian,” Baz called out. “Can you ride with Nika? Stay with her?”

“Sure,” he said, with a smile that was a bit too happy.

Sleep deprivation did that to you.

“Hey, Baz,” one of the NYPD detectives called out. “Can I go with Nika too?”

“I’d appreciate it, Williams,” Baz told him. “I’ve got to sort out this mess.”

The detective joined the paramedics, Brian, and Nika in the elevator. The doors closed and the stress level in the room went down a notch.

The soldier stared at Ledger. “Where is my interrogator?”

“You mean the traitor?” Ledger spat out. “You must be Marek. Your boy set off a bomb in the building. He’s a traitor. Are you a traitor? Another spy?” Ledger tried to shake off the FBI agent holding him, but the agent didn’t budge.

Marek stepped closer to Ledger and seemed to study his eyes. “Are you on any medications or drugs?”

“Me?” Ledger started laughing, and it sounded...wrong. Too high pitched, too frenetic.

Marek looked at the assorted law enforcement agents in the room. “Has this man taken any medication?”

Everyone looked at each other, shaking their heads. Including the Homeland Security agents.

“Um, not that I’m aware of,” one of them said.

The others nodded in agreement.

“Why do you ask?”

“Look at his eyes,” Marek ordered. “His pupils are blown wide open.”

Ledger slumped to the floor, nearly taking the FBI agent holding him along for the ride.

“Someone get another team of paramedics up here,” Marek ordered.

The police detective who’d stayed behind made a phone call. “Paramedics are on their way,” he said.

Ledger mumbled a few words, tried to sit up, but failed, flopping over onto his back like a dead fish.

“Is this guy a diabetic or something?” Marek asked.

Two of the Homeland Security agents crouched down next to Ledger and tried to wake him up, but he didn’t respond or react.

The elevator dinged again and a new pair of paramedics stepped out. They assessed Ledger.

“What’s wrong with him?” Baz asked.

“Hard to say,” one paramedic said. “His heart rate is a little fast, but his blood pressure is low. His blood sugar is normal, too. We’ll have to do a tox-screen to figure it out.”

One of the Homeland Security agents cleared his throat. “He has been downing energy drinks, one after another since the fire at the military base.”

“How many?” the paramedic asked.

The agent shrugged. “I don’t know. I wasn’t keeping track, but at least six that I saw.”

The paramedic sighed. “Yeah, that would do it. We’ll have to watch him. He could have a heart attack or stroke.”

They strapped Ledger onto the gurney and rolled him out. All the Homeland Security agents wanted to go with Ledger, but the paramedics allowed only two to accompany him. One FBI agent and Homeland Security agent.

The others moved to wait by the elevator.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Marek asked them.

When they stopped to frown at him, he smiled. “I’m missing a man. Where is he?”

One of the agents stepped forward and shrugged. “I’m sorry sir, we don’t know. This whole situation has been chaos from the beginning.”

“Why don’t you tell us all what happened,” the lead FBI agent said.

When the Homeland Security agent hesitated, the FBI agent gave him a half grin. “No matter how you spin it, it’s going to sound bad. We all figured that out when the word vampire got thrown out there by your boss.”

“I have to admit,” Marek said, with a nod. “It got my attention, and not in a good way.”

“I can’t believe I’ll be using that word in a report,” the remaining NYPD detective said. “I’m gonna get laughed at by my whole department.”

The Homeland Security agent looked at his colleagues, then said. “Yeah, maybe you guys can help us understand what the hell happened, because it doesn’t make any sense to us either.”

It took him an hour to give a summary to the group, and another hour to attempt to answer follow-up questions.

“Ledger said he had a credible terrorist threat. He said he’d caught a dirty FBI agent and a Russian spy. He said he needed an interrogator who could get results fast,” Marek said. “I pulled one of my best men off an active surveillance mission and sent him here with no situation report because it was that time sensitive. Now you’re telling me, Ledger did all this because someone told him he could create for himself some vampire super-soldiers?”

The Homeland Security agents, to a man, tried to become one with the walls.

“And now my man and this diplomat have just disappeared into thin air?”

No one answered him, but they all looked ashamed and embarrassed.

Baz’s phone went off. He looked at it and stepped away a few steps to take the call. He kept his voice down, but he looked awfully tense.

He ended the call and turned around.

“How is she?” Marek asked, without the snark in his voice.

Baz looked like he was two seconds from blowing up. “She’s on the operating table right now. The bullet was a through and through. She has a collapsed lung and it nicked her liver. They’ve given her several units of blood.” He paused and looked at the Homeland Security agents with a snarl on his face. “Through an IV, not because she’s drinking it.”

They had the grace to look even more embarrassed.

“But they think she’s going to make it,” Baz said

“Any woman who can put up with you, wouldn’t let a bullet stop her,” Marek said.

Baz rolled his eyes. “That’s not as reassuring as you think it is.”

“I just don’t understand why this happened,” the lead FBI agent said. He looked at the Homeland Security agents. “Was Ledger under considerable stress?”

“Not that we’re aware of,” one of the agents answered. “But Ledger doesn’t have a law enforcement or military background. He’s a lawyer and he lobbied hard to be appointed to his current position. His, uh...brother is the Secretary of Homeland Security. His father is a US Senator.”

They kept talking about the circumstances around Ledger’s actions, but no one had any answers or even guesses as to what prompted him to act so precipitously. In the end, each group nominated one of their team members to remain in contact with the others, then they dispersed. Most using the elevator. A couple of the FBI agents used the stairs.

Marek shook Baz’s hand and went down in the elevator with his two soldiers.

“Are you going to contact your commanding officer?” Anna asked Evan.

“No,” he said, quickly enough that he didn’t have to think about his answer.

“Why not?”

“Because I think I need to stay...out of sight.”

“He seems concerned.”

“Of course he’s concerned. It won’t stop him from arresting me and charging me with treason, though. He’s a stickler for following orders and procedures. I pretty much stopped doing that the moment I saw your face.”

“What?” Anna turned to face him. “I didn’t...” She stared at him, horrified. “You threw your career away just to help me?”

His gaze was calm. Certain. Confidant. “Yup.”

“But in all the confusion no one knows what happened,” she said in a rush. “You could—”

He shook his head. “If the investigators find the remains of my explosive device at the epicenter of the fire, they’ll know it was me. Marek will know it was me.”

“But why?” she asked, confused as to why a man with such dedication would walk away from his calling. “Why did you do it?”

He cupped her face with one hand. “Because it was you . Because what Ledger was doing was wrong. Because if I had done nothing, and he started shopping his proof around, you’d be dead or worse.”

She opened her mouth, but he wasn’t finished.

“That baby FBI agent would have been stuck with you, to be used as leverage to get you to do what they want. Then your family would have been rounded up and treated to the same. And I know Baz. He would have lost his shit, and there would have been a bloodbath.”

She closed her mouth. He was right, that would have happened.

“I’m not fond of politicians for several reasons,” Evan said. “But the main one is their ambition.”

She frowned. What did that have to do with anything?

“Politicians are ambitious or they wouldn’t be trying to win popularity contests. If serving the greater good or serving their country was their goal, they’d most likely head up a non-profit or go into the military or law enforcement. When someone with ambition gets some power, it sometimes goes to their head. They convince themselves that they’re safe and can finally do whatever they want.”

“Ledger would have committed atrocities if you hadn’t set off that bomb?” Anna asked, out loud. “You’re sure?”

“Yes. And it was two bombs. The first one was a smoke bomb. It got people moving, thinking the building was on fire, so they would evacuate. Then, when the real bomb went off, no one would get hurt.”

“You came prepared to do this?”

“What can I say,” he shrugged. “I’m a little paranoid too.” He grinned at her.

“But what will you do?”

“I want to make sure this situation is resolved to a degree where you feel safe again.”

She snorted. “I haven’t felt safe since I got sick.” Eight hundred years ago .

“Okay. How about until you can go about your business without fear of getting kidnapped by assholes,” Evan said. “After that, it’s up to you.”

“Up to me?”

“Yeah, I knew I wanted you the moment I walked into that holding room and you spoke to me. The question is, do you want me ?”

Anna stopped breathing. What ?

He smiled slowly. “From the look on your face, I gather you find this surprising.”

There really wasn’t enough air in the room. Not with him in it. Not when she wanted to take what he was offering so badly, her hands were shaking. Not when she’d offered trust to men in the past, only to have them break it.

His grandfather hadn’t broken it.

He’d been one of a kind. Or so she thought.

She met Evan’s gaze and realized he’d been watching her face while she was panicking. He looked worried. For her.

She sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Your grandfather and his unit of men weren’t the only soldiers I tried to help during World War II.” She had to stop to breathe again.

Evan leaned forward and offered her his hand. He didn’t say anything, just held it out.

She put her hand in his, realizing too late how badly she was shaking.

He closed his hand around hers and held it with a gentleness she couldn’t quite fathom. As if she were the most precious thing he’d ever touched. As if she were more important to him than anyone else in the world.

All the words she’d planned to say stumbled into each other, snarling together into a knot in her throat.

“Who else did you try to help during the war?” he asked, his voice soft and curious.

“The French. It was difficult after the Germans occupied the country. There were many people who became collaborators because they were terrified they’d be killed if they didn’t cooperate with the Germans.”

“Gramps talked about how his unit would set up for their ghost mission, impersonating some tank unit out in the country. He said that the people in the towns would have flags flying over their doors, and that they’d change them depending on which army might be rolling through it. One day, the flags were all German. The next, French. Was it like that?”

“Yes. I’d been working with a resistance cell for a few months. We were intercepting German intelligence via a brothel. I was disguised as an old woman, cleaning and cooking. But the family of one of the men in our cell had been arrested and they tortured his wife in front of him until he gave up every single member.”

“Fuck,” Evan spat the word out.

“They raided the brothel, pulled the women out and shot them all. They tortured the men in my cell before they killed them.” She stopped talking.

“What happened to you, Anna?” he asked.

“They didn’t realize I was...younger, my disguise was a good one, so they thought I was an old woman. They punched me in the face until some of my teeth were knocked out. Then they shot me in the head.”

It had hurt so much. But what came next hurt so much more.

“When I regained consciousness, I was in a mass grave about half full of bodies.” The memories of that moment came back to her in a rush, swamping her senses with the overwhelming smell of rotting flesh. The bodies on top of her pressed down and made it hard to breathe, their blood and body fluids coating her skin.

It had taken weeks for her to get the smell of death and decay out of her nose.

“It was night, but I could tell that dawn wasn’t far away. I pushed my way out of the pile and climbed out of the pit.” A faint buzzing in her ears broke her out of the memories, and she realized she was breathing too hard. She gripped Evan’s hands harder and focused on his face, his eyes, rather than the dead who lived so deep in her head, they could never really die.

“The Germans had burned the brothel to the ground. What was left was still smoking and hot. There was no one in sight. Not one person. Not a single sound.

The small town had a couple hundred people living in it. When I turned back to look in the hole, I realized that there were more bodies in it than I first thought.”

“The whole town was in there?”

“Yes. They’d killed everyone.” She barked out a hysterical laugh. “They’d even shot the dogs.”

Evan eased her closer and rubbed small circles on her back. “Gramps said some horrible shit went down during the war.” Evan shook his head. “But that’s next level fucked up.”

“We weren’t people to them,” Anna whispered. “We weren’t people, so killing us didn’t mean anything.” She leaned against him. “Ledger doesn’t see me, anyone connected to me, or anyone like me as a person or people either.”

Did Evan understand? Did he see that the small difference in attitude could mean the difference between following the law or committing monstrous crimes?

“If he’s allowed to continue...working,” Anna said, “He will find a way to either control or kill me.”

Evan tugged at her hands, and she let him pull her into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. His breath ghosted across her ear. “Then we’d better make sure that doesn’t happen.”

***

E van held Anna for a long time. She didn’t cry, but her whole body shook for several minutes. Finally, she relaxed enough to make him think she’d fallen asleep. But his grandfather had told him she didn’t sleep, not in the same way other people did.

Eventually, she raised her head to look at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but steps on the stairs leading out of the safe room had her getting to her feet instead.

Baz came down and stopped at the base of the stairs. He put his hands on his hips. “Please tell me I didn’t interrupt anything.”

Evan almost laughed at the sour expression on his friend’s face.

“A man and a woman can offer platonic support to each other you know,” Anna said.

Baz raised an eyebrow and looked at Evan.

He smiled and shrugged. “I almost fell asleep.”

Baz shook his head. “Tell yourself whatever story you want, mom.” He rubbed his face with both hands. “What clusterfuck of a day.”

“It’s not over yet,” Evan said.

“You got that right. The apartment is empty, but the hotel is crawling with law enforcement and military.”

“What do you mean, crawling?”

“I mean they booked rooms. The FBI booked two suites for a week. Marek booked a room for three days, but if anything interesting happens here, he’ll stay longer. I know that guy, he’s a nosy fucker.”

“How is Nika?” Anna asked.

“Nothing new since that first phone call. I’ve been dealing with all the assholes in the hotel.”

“What about the NYPD?” Evan asked.

“They all cleared out except for surveillance out on the street. They’ve also got a couple of people in the restaurant on the main floor. They’re rotating teams in and out. Not sure if they’re planning on doing it 24/7 or what. With all those Chinese tourists, we’re nearly at full capacity.”

“The Chinese,” Anna whispered, closing her eyes. “I had forgotten about them.”

“Yeah, well, it was pretty funny watching the cops try to ask some of them questions. All they wanted to do was take pictures standing next to them. A couple even wanted to have the cops put their handcuffs on them for the pictures.”

“I think they can all speak English, they just choose not to.”

“Anyone the Chinese deem family is highly educated,” Anna said. “And extremely dangerous.”

“Even the little old ladies?” Evan asked.

“Especially them,” Baz replied. “I’ve seen them wander over to some idiot who thought his sword and fancy armor meant something, only to be garroted by the little old lady .” Baz looked at Anna. “What are we going to do with them?”

She sighed. “I guess that depends on how badly the Chinese government wants them back.”

All three of them stared at nothing at all for a moment.

Evan began reviewing everything Ledger had said to him when he’d first arrived. “Ledger told me someone, I got the impression it was a group, tipped him off about you, Anna. Showed him something to convince him you were different. Worth the risk of grabbing you and shooting you to confirm the information.” He leaned forward. “Could it be those Italian guys?”

“The timing would suggest that it was them,” she said.

“I’ll get Yvgeny’s hacker squad to look into it,” Baz said. “And get them to see if there’s any chatter online about the Chinese government looking for some people.”

“You should go to Nika,” Anna said.

Baz got to his feet fast. Too fast. Faster than Evan had ever seen anyone move.

Evan jerked himself back, unable to stop his body’s natural reaction to the show of strength.

No one moved.

In an effort to break the tension, Evan asked, “Just how strong are you?”

“We’ve never developed a rating system,” Baz said, “But everyone believes I’m the strongest.” He shook his head. “I’ve got to go. I’ve got eight million things to do and just as many people to talk to.”

Baz headed for the stairs, but paused before he started up them. “Stay here, both of you,” he ordered. “Evan, there’s food in the fridge and in the cupboards in the mini-kitchen. A coffee maker included. The couch folds out into a bed. I will check in when I know something about anything. Mason and Magnus know you’re up here, too.” Baz went up the stairs, then closed the secret hatch at the top.

Evan looked at Anna, who smiled.

“To answer your question, we’re stronger, faster, and can heal from almost any wound. We don’t get sick and we don’t age. A few were older when they got sick and became one of us. They didn’t get younger, but if they suffered from arthritis, they didn’t afterwards. They might have the gray hair and less muscle mass, but on the inside, they’re healthy.”

“The fountain of youth,” Evan whispered.

“Living for a long time comes with a lot of problems. Some are obvious, but others aren’t.” She got up and walked in a circle, stopped to look at the screens, then wandered around the furniture. She had her arms wrapped around herself.

“Anna, what’s wrong?”

“There aren’t any windows and I feel like the walls are closing in.”

Evan got to his feet and followed her a half pace behind. “What would you normally do in a situation like this?”

She barked out a short laugh. “I wouldn’t be in a situation like this. I always leave myself with more than one way to esc...” She stopped walking and blinked. “You’re right. Yvgeny would have at least one other way out.”

“Do you want to find it?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to use it?” He sounded worried she’d say yes.

“No, but knowing it’s there and it’s another option would be good.”

It took them a little while, but they finally found the emergency , emergency exit in the bathroom.

The grin she turned on him when a section of the wall behind the toilet opened, lit a slow burning fire in his belly. “Feel better?” he asked.

She ducked her head. “Yes. Thank you for humoring me.”

“I’d do a lot worse to see that smile on your face.”

She blinked, looked at the narrow spiral staircase leading down, then looked at him again. “Oh.” A blush crept up her cheeks as she closed the wall panel, hiding the stairs.

Beautiful, so fucking beautiful.

He wanted to lean in and kiss her, but something held him back. Maybe it was the story she told him earlier, about being dumped into a mass grave. Maybe it was the fact that her son was a friend. Maybe it was the whole fucked up situation.

She seemed fragile, uncertain, and anxious. And what woman wouldn’t feel that way if she’d been betrayed by as many people as she had been.

He’d need to show her he was trustworthy. Prove he wouldn’t throw her under the bus.

“Hey,” he said, cupping her face. “I have an idea.”

She met his gaze. “What is it?”

“Come on, I’ll show you.” He got to his feet, then offered her a hand up. She allowed him to pull her to her feet and didn’t pull her hand away once they were walking.

He led her over to the couch, then unfolded it into a bed.

He held his hand out. “Come and rest with me.”

“Rest?” she asked.

“Just rest. We could both use it.”

She hesitated, then nodded.

He lay down first, and she joined him so he could spoon up to her from behind. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck.

She was warm and smelled like sunshine.

***

G erry Ledger yanked on the handcuffs encircling his wrists one more time. Part of him wanted to pull and tug on them until he started bleeding. Most of him wasn’t interested in putting himself through that much pain.

He was sitting in an interrogation room in the FBI’s New York Office, waiting for...who knew what. He’d tried to explain about Anna Breznik and what a danger she was, but they just shook their heads and looked at him like he was dirt.

His evidence might have been destroyed when that Army asshole used a bomb to start a fire in the security office, but all he had to do to produce more proof was shoot her again.

The prospect made him happy for a moment.

The door opened and his brother walked into the room. The glare on his face was sharp enough to cut through the damned handcuffs.

He didn’t say anything and Gerry did the same. He’d learned long ago not to air his dirty laundry in front of a bunch of other people.

An FBI agent came in with a key and unlocked the handcuffs.

Gerry got to his feet and followed his brother out of the building.

Once they were in Matt’s car, his brother said, “What. The. Fuck.”

Gerry opened his mouth to explain, but Matt stuck his hand up in front of Gerry’s face.

“No, I don’t want to hear your pathetic excuses. This is your last chance, Gerry. Fix the situation or you’re on your own.”

“What do you mean on my own?”

“I mean, I won’t protect you from arrest or prosecution anymore, and neither will father.”

“But—”

Matthew stuck his hand in Gerry’s face again. “Stop talking. I swear, if I have to listen to your whining one more time, I’ll shoot you myself.”

Gerry shut his mouth. This wasn’t over, though. He would prove that Anna Breznik was some kind of leech on humanity. Then he would demand an apology from his big brother.

***

“E van?” Anna said, in his ear. “Wake up.”

Anna.

He opened his eyes to find her leaning over him, her hand on his shoulder.

“What’s happened?” he asked, pushing himself into a sitting position. “How long did I sleep?”

“It’s been six hours,” she answered. “There’s news.”

He got to his feet and followed Anna to the security screens. She pointed at one of them.

“Isn’t that the detective Baz asked to go with Nika and Brian to the hospital?” he asked. Frowning at the activity on the screen in the lobby area of the hotel.

There wasn’t any sound, not that they would have heard much if there had been. There were too many people for anything a microphone might pick up to be anything but garbled.

“Yes, and he’s visibly upset about something.”

Evan snorted. “He looks like he’s trying to impersonate a windmill. If he keeps flapping his arms like that, he’s going to need to register a flight plan.”

Anna burst out laughing, then covered her mouth, but her shoulders continued to shake.

The detective was talking to Baz, but a couple of groups of Chinese tourists were hovering close enough to overhear the conversation. Especially since it looked like the officer was shouting.

Evan was sure he was shouting when two FBI agents and Marek joined the lively conversation.

Nobody looked happy.

After the detective spoke some more, everyone got their phones out and were either texting or calling someone.

“This doesn’t look good,” Evan said.

“No.” Anna’s face was pinched. “And we can’t find out what happened because we’re in here and can’t leave.”

“Baz will come and tell us when he can,” Evan said.

“If it involves Nika in any way, he may leave to deal with it,” Anna told him. “You don’t know how difficult it was for him to stay behind when she went to the hospital.”

Evan thought about how he would feel if it had been Anna who’d been shot and rushed away. Would he have stayed behind?

“I don’t think I could have done it.”

Anna stared at him. “What?”

“If it had been you, I don’t think I could have stayed behind. I guess that makes me a selfish bastard, and Baz a better man than I am. People can sense that he’d put his life on the line for you. The guy has never, not once in all the time I’ve known him, put himself and what he wants first.”

“He walked away from our family for hundreds of years,” Anna said, and she sounded angry.

“Did you ever consider the possibility that he walked away to protect you?” Evan asked. “A man who has had his reason for living ripped away from him is dangerous. Anyone going through that, with his physical gifts, would be the most dangerous creature I could ever imagine. Maybe it was the only good thing he could have done?”

“I hadn’t thought of it like that,” she said, after thinking about it for a few seconds. “He was inconsolable. He killed several vampires, all the ones involved in the crime, and even more normal humans. Then he just disappeared. No one knew where he went for more than forty years.”

On the screen, Baz was now the one yelling and gesturing broadly with his arms. He seemed focused on one of the FBI agents.

Two large men in black suits strode up to the group, and physically hauled Baz away and toward the elevator. The last thing Baz did before the doors closed was flip the bird at the FBI.

“He’s coming up here,” Anna said.

“Yeah, this ought to be fun.”

Anna frowned at him. “Have you seen him angry before?”

“I watched him rescue several wounded men while under fire.” He tried to smile, but he was pretty sure his face wasn’t cooperating. “Trust me, he was angry.”

They watched the screens, which were interesting all on their own.

The Lobby was busy. The FBI agents were talking with the detective and Marek. From the expressions on everyone’s faces, there was a lot of concern and confusion.

“Why do I get the feeling someone got kidnapped?” Evan mused, out loud.

“I hope you’re wrong.”

In the elevator, Baz still looked ready to tear someone apart, but he wasn’t yelling anymore. That was something.

When it reached Yvgeny’s apartment, Baz got off with the two bruisers and went straight for the safe room door.

He came down the stairs, but the two guys who’d come with him closed up the safe room behind him, pulled out their phones, and waited in the living area.

“What happened?” Anna asked.

Evan got a good look at Baz’s face and had to force himself to not step back. He looked ready to explode.

“Is Nika okay?” Anna asked.

Baz took in a deep breath, then let it out slow.

Huh, Nika was the magic word.

“She’s out of surgery, but in the ICU. The bullet did nick her liver. She lost so much blood they had to give her a half dozen units. They were able to reinflate her lung. As soon as they rolled her out of recovery, Homeland tried to take her into custody.”

“They didn’t,” Evan drawled.

At Baz’s flat stare, Evan shook his head. “What a bunch of idiots.”

“Williams said the surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and a couple of surgery residents told them the same thing. They refused to believe she was that injured until they saw her. Once they realized she was just your normal average human, they grabbed Brian and dragged him out of the hospital. Williams tried to stop them, but they threatened him with the loss of his job and jail if he interfered.”

“Those morons,” Evan hissed.

“Williams knew something hinky was going on, so he came to tell me first, before going to his precinct to report to his lieutenant and captain.”

“What did Marek say, when Williams told you what happened?”

“He was pissed. He said Homeland was up to its neck in bullshit over Anna and Brian, and heads were going to roll.”

Anna had her fingers tangled together. “They’re going to hurt him.”

Evan and Baz exchanged a look. Yeah, she was probably right.

“Is there a way to find out where they took him?” she asked.

“You’re not going to rescue him, mom,” Baz said.

“It’s my fault he’s mixed up in our family business.”

“Technically, it’s Yvgeny who involved him,” Baz said. “Then it’s Ledger’s fault.”

“Nah,” Evan said. “Ledger deserves all the blame.”

“What are we going to do?” Anna asked. “We can’t just stand idly by while they torture him.”

“You’re not going to do anything,” Baz ordered. “I don’t even know where they took him.”

“Marek might be able to find out,” Evan said. “He’s got friends in Homeland.”

“If I start asking for favors, all kinds of people are going to take a closer look at me,” Baz said.

Anna nodded. “I think you should go to the hospital to stand guard over Nika,” Anna said. “It’s the right thing to do. It’s also the expected thing to do.”

“What about the hotel and all the Chinese tourists?”

“Mason and Magnus can run the hotel. If they need advice, they can come to me,” Anna said.

“I’d like to go after Brian,” Evan said.

“No,” Anna and Baz said, at the same time.

Evan laughed. “You two have the exact same irritated expression on your faces.”

“Evan, you’re not—” Anna began.

“Marek is my handler and my commanding officer. He knows I can get myself out of tight situations. I’ll pretend I was down in the subway all this time. I’ll say I made sure you got to the Slovenian embassy, then tracked him down.”

“How do you know he won’t just arrest you or something?” Anna asked. “You were worried about that earlier.”

“Because I’m not the one who fucked up, Ledger is. And now there’s enough people who have witnessed his unhinged behavior to make my actions acceptable.” He paused, then added, “Mostly.”

“That’s not as reassuring as you think it is,” she said, with a shake of her head.

“Your camo is going to make you stand out,” Baz said.

“Good,” Evan replied. “I want Marek and anyone else to see what they expect to see. If I’m in nice clean civilian clothing, they’re going to wonder where I got it.”

Anna stared at him, her expression becoming more and more pinched. “You won’t have anyone to watch your back.”

“I often work alone, and we’ve got to get intel on Ledger or whoever at Homeland who believes him. This is the most efficient, safest way to do that.”

Evan glanced at the security screens again. “Everything is stirred up thanks to that detective. Now would be a great time to pop up out of nowhere. Just one more weird occurrence among a bunch of weirder ones.”

Baz stared at him so hard Evan was surprised there weren’t any holes in his face.

“Okay, yeah,” he said, finally. “Let’s do it. I’ll go to the hospital, you’ll go on your distract and destroy mission, and Mom will stay here, out of sight, and keep an eye on things inside the hotel.”

“How will we communicate?” Anna asked, with fists clenched. She did not like this plan.

Baz went to the desk in front of the screens and opened a drawer. It was full of burner phones. “Take two or three,” Baz said to Evan. “I’m going to do the same.”

Evan grabbed three phones, and Anna took one. They made sure all their phones had each other’s numbers, and during all that Anna’s expression and body language grew unhappier and unhappier.

“I don’t like this,” she said, when he and Baz were ready to go.

Baz glanced at Evan, flashed a slight smirk, and headed for the stairs. “I’m going to talk to M & M about our stupid plans my Mom doesn’t like.” He climbed the stairs, opened the hatch, and walked up into the apartment above.

“People who are willing to do what Ledger has done to obtain power, have no moral code, no breaks on their desire for more.” She twisted her fingers together.

Evan took her by the shoulders and leaned his forehead against hers. “I have, unfortunately, met a few people like that. I know how to handle them.”

With her body up against his, he could feel her shaking, her breath too fast in his ear. “Anna.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t know why I’m...” her hands clutched at him. “So scared for you.”

“Well,” he said slowly, pulling away to look down at her. “If things go horribly wrong, I guess you’ll have to come and rescue me.”

“Like you rescued me?”

“Somehow I think you’d do it with more style.” He waggled his eyebrows at her and grinned.

“What does that mean?” she asked, suspicion deepened her frown. And yet, he could see the beginning of a smile at the corner of her mouth.

“You know,” he said, with enthusiasm. “In one of those old-fashioned frilly dresses from the 1800s, or a 1920s flapper dress, or—”

She cut him off with a shake of her head. “If you say a 1980s skirt suit with padded shoulders, I will bite you.”

He laughed. A full-on, no holds barred, belly laugh. “I can’t even picture you in one of those,” he said, between guffaws.

She gave him a half-grin. “I used to own a closet full of them.”

That only made him laugh harder.

Her laughter joined his for a few seconds until he pulled her into a hug.

“We’re going to get through this,” he whispered, in her ear.

“And then what?” she asked, with an uncertain note in her voice.

He pulled back so he could meet her gaze. “And then, I leave the military and join you in Slovenia or wherever you choose to go.”

Her eyes were stark with a mix of fear and sadness. “Evan, I’ve tried to live a normal life with a...partner. It always ends horribly.”

“That’s just it, Anna. I’m not normal. I’m a soldier and a spy, and I have no illusions about the fact that I’m going to die and you’re not.” He caressed her face with gentle fingers. “I just want to be with you.”

“I want...to be with you, too.”

A warm wave of relief washed through him. “Then we’ll figure it out.”

She searched his face, then nodded. “Okay.”

He kissed her, gently at first, but her lush lips and frantic hands drove caution out of him, and he hauled her into his arms.

Good God, he wanted this woman.

Someone stomped on the stairs.

Evan pulled away to check them, but no one was visible.

“Let’s go, Evan,” Baz said, his voice irritated.

He and Anna released each other slowly.

“Take care of yourself,” Anna said softly.

“Stay safe,” he replied.

They nodded at each other. He picked up his gear and rifle and went up the stairs.

Baz and the twin bruisers were waiting for him. All of them had their arms crossed over their chests, looking about as friendly as a polar bear convention.

Evan closed the hatch leading down the stairs into the safe room, then walked out to face them. He studied their faces. This was the first time he’d had to explain himself to the family of a woman he wanted.

But this was no ordinary family, and Anna was no ordinary woman.

“I’ve known about Anna for a long time,” he said. “I observed her from a distance at several events, and had no intention of introducing myself. My grandfather had told me stories about her, and he made it clear that secrecy was a life or death thing for her.”

“Why did he tell you?” one of the twins asked.

“I think he kept track of her through the news and in the last few years, social media. He was concerned that keeping her secret was getting harder and harder. After I’d been in Army Intelligence for a couple of years, and he was near the end of his life, he decided she might need some covert help.”

“This situation has been anything but covert,” Baz drawled.

“True, Ledger’s actions required a fast response, and I had limited resources at my disposal.” He shrugged. “If it hadn’t been me assigned to respond to Ledger’s request, things would have gotten ugly for her and the baby agent.”

Baz stared at him, his gaze narrow. “My Mom is not the kind of woman who does casual, short-term relationships. If that’s what you’re after, you can fuck right off.”

The twins both looked at Baz, their jaws hanging open. A moment later, they snapped their jaws closed and turned to glare at Evan.

“I want to be with her,” he said simply. “Not for a day, a weekend, or a month, but for as long as I’ve got. I don’t care about her abilities or power or politics. She’s a woman with a lot of responsibilities and visibility, but no one is looking after her security. I haven’t talked to her about it, yet, but I’d like to take on that job.”

“You expect us to believe that?” The twin on his left asked.

“You think no one has professed to love her and promised to keep loving her no matter how old or sick they got?” his brother asked. “They always turned around and betrayed her. Every single fucking one of them.”

“You’re going to grow old and die,” Baz said. “At some point, you’re going to become resentful.”

Evan looked from one man to another and another. There wasn’t an iota of give in any of their faces and body language.

He could understand their perspective. It pissed him the fuck off, but he could understand it.

“Then I guess I’ll have to prove to you assholes that you don’t know everything about everyone.” He gave the twins a half smile, then turned to Baz. “Is there a way for me to end up in the hotel’s underground parking lot using that secret staircase?”

“Where are you planning to go?” Baz asked.

“Ideally, I’d like to walk out of the public elevator in the lobby.” He grinned. “I want to stir up the hornet’s nest and see what comes out.”

“That’s a dangerous thing to do,” Baz said. “You could end up in custody or just disappear all together.”

“Ledger’s claims are crazy. He thinks your kind of vampires can be created and controlled. He has no concept of what you actually are. How rare you are. The difficulties you live with.” He studied each man’s face and saw frustration and irritation on them all.

“If someone doesn’t take the fight out of the shadows and into the view of people with power and influence, he’s not going to stop until you’re all captured or dead.”

“And you think you’re the right person to do that?” Baz asked.

“Yeah, I think I am.”

“So, what are you going to do?” the twin on the left asked. “Walk out into public as if your camo and weapons are part of your business suit?”

“Yeah.”

“That might be fun to watch,” the twin on the right said.

His brother grunted at him.

Baz rolled his eyes. “Come on, I’ll show you the way. Mason and Magnus will look after the hotel. Hopefully, they won’t kill too many people.”

The twins both grunted at that remark and went to the elevator.

Evan followed Baz to the panel in the wall that concealed the secret staircase and followed him down, down, down. The staircase ended in a small room no bigger than a closet with a narrow door that didn’t have a doorknob, but a latch on a pulley system. It was easy enough to use from this side, but on the other side, you’d have to know where to engage the pulley in order to open the door.

Baz triggered the latch and opened the door.

Evan followed him and discovered they were in a janitorial closet full of cleaning supplies and equipment. All of it looked in recent use.

Baz patted his arm, then allowed the door to close. He showed where Evan needed to press. It was a power outlet set at about knee height on the wall. Push it in and the door popped open again.

Evan grinned at Baz, who shook his head.

Baz opened the janitorial room door and stepped outside. Evan followed him, discovering that the stairs let them out exactly where he wanted. They were inside the hotel on the parking lot level.

He shut the door behind himself, then turned to study it for a moment. There was another door a few feet to the right of the janitor’s closet with a placard on it that read: Maintenance. Another door further down the hallway had a placard too: Storage.

“Sometimes, there’s a lot of traffic down here,” Evan said to Baz.

“Sometimes. This room is fully functional, which means no one asks questions about it. There are no security cameras on this hallway. Not until you turn the corner.”

“What’s around the corner?”

“The exit to the parking lot or the elevator going up.”

Baz walked with Evan down the hallway. They turned the corner, then Baz went left and Evan went right.

He got into the elevator and went up a couple of floors to the lobby. He stepped out into a space that had lots of people in it, but it still didn’t feel crowded.

The last time Evan checked, Marek was in the restaurant with a cup of coffee and a laptop.

He entered the restaurant and saw Marek seated along the back wall, facing the rest of the room. Their gazes met.

Evan smiled and waved.

Marek’s eyebrows rose.

Evan started toward his boss, walking past some FBI agents on his way to Marek’s table. They stared at him with wide eyes, and he had to work hard not to smirk.

Evan sat down across from his boss, but before he could say hello, a waitress was standing next to him. He ordered a coffee and a full eggs and bacon breakfast. She tapped his order into her tablet and left.

“Where the hell have you been?” Marek asked, in a deceptively light tone. “I was beginning to think you were dead.”

“Not dead,” Evan said. “Lost.”

“Lost?”

“Yeah, down in the subway. That place is crazy, and they don’t have any handy maps on the walls outside the public platforms.”

“Weird place to go sightseeing,” Marek remarked, in that casual tone that wasn’t casual at all.

“I found something called the Freedom tunnel,” Evan said. “I guess it used to house a whole bunch of homeless people at one time. It’s empty now, but the place is covered in graffiti.”

The waitress walked up with his coffee, set it in front of him, and left.

“Why were you down there?”

Evan took a long sip before answering. “I was making sure Anna Breznik got to her embassy before any other idiots tried to kidnap or kill her.”

“So, she’s in her embassy?” Marek asked, in a casual tone that was a complete lie.

“I took her to the safest place I know. I tried to convince her to go to a hospital, but after what that Homeland Security agent, Ledger, did to her, she refused. She thought it would be too easy for him or others to kidnap her again from a hospital.”

“How badly was she injured?”

“A bullet cut a furrow along the rear of her head. An inch closer and it would have killed her. She’s going to need an MRI or some other scan to see how deep the wound is. She might need to wear something over her head until her bone can heal up.”

The waitress returned with his food and Evan dug in. It was the first full meal he’d eaten in more than twenty-four hours. “How’s Brian Stettler? Did he get to a hospital to get his bullet wound looked at?” Evan glanced over his shoulder at the FBI agents sitting at their table about twenty feet away.

Marek waved at the FBI agents, inviting them over. “I’ll let them explain about Brian.”

The agents arrived. Everyone shook hands, and they took seats at their table. Marek asked them to fill Evan in on Brian’s whereabouts.

They gave a fairly accurate summary of the goings on in Yvgeny’s apartment hours earlier, including how a raving Ledger shot Nika.

Evan shook his head. “That guy is going to start world war three with his ridiculous bullshit.” He looked at the FBI agents. “So, Brian is at the hospital?”

“He was.” The guy answering shifted in his seat. “About two hours ago, a half dozen Homeland Security agents arrested him and took him away.”

“And you let them?” Evan asked, sounding as shocked as he felt when he watched Williams relay the event to them.

Both FBI agents looked like they’d been caught cheating on an exam. “We only had one agent watching him. We didn’t think Ledger would continue with his vampire/terrorist story once all of us knew about it.”

“He’s completely bought into his own bullshit,” Evan said. “Logic and reason are foreign concepts to him now.” He shook his head and ate another bite of his breakfast. “Do you have any idea where Homeland took Brian?”

“We know where he is, the problem is getting him out. They have a large office here, he’s in one of their interrogation rooms.”

“Did he get his wound looked at?” Evan asked. “Last time I saw him, he hadn’t had it looked at yet. Ledger didn’t allow him to do much first aid on himself.”

“We’re not sure,” the FBI agent doing most of the talking said.

Evan didn’t respond. He didn’t need to. Everyone at that table knew the FBI had dropped the ball repeatedly.

“Well, I’d like to help you get him out of there,” Evan glanced at Marek. “As long as my boss is onboard with it.”

“Homeland isn’t going to cooperate,” Marek said. “If they do, they’ll be admitting they screwed up. Army Intelligence and the FBI can’t force them to release him.”

“So, we get the Department of Justice involved,” Evan said, with a shrug. “The Attorney General has the authority to override Homeland’s bullshit.”

“We?” Marek asked mildly.

“Ledger lied to the FBI,” Evan said, ticking off one finger. He ticked off another. “He lied to Army Intelligence, he shot a diplomat and an FBI agent, and he made death threats against me and anyone who knew Anna Breznik and Brian Stettler.”

“That is quite the list,” Marek said.

“Homeland has always had a go big or go home mentality.”

“And there’s nothing to Ledger’s claims?” Marek asked.

Evan snorted. “I only know what he told me. What did he tell you?”

“He told me that she was a terrorist masquerading as diplomat. He said she had some unique skills and was an imminent danger to the country.”

“He told us the same thing,” the FBI agent said. “Then he told us that our agent had died while trying to bring this Anna Breznik in.”

“He told me that she had the ability to heal what would normally be lethal injuries,” Evan said. “I didn’t see him injure her or your agent, but I saw them at some point after they’d been hurt. They were both covered in blood, and were pissed off.”

“I still didn’t know what was going on, so I went into the room to ask some leading questions. Which is when I discovered their identities and that what had happened to them at Ledger’s hands was very illegal.”

“You said you had a recording of Ledger planning your murder?” Marek asked.

“Yup.” Even reached into one of his pockets and pulled out his work cell phone. He turned the device on, located the file, and pressed play.

He watched the three men’s faces as the audio file played.

None of them looked happy, but Marek’s face hardened as the audio continued, until he was well and truly angry by the end of it.

“Who was he talking to?”

“A congressman and a senator, which was a really dumb thing to do,” Evan said. “Since they all gossip worse than an old lady bridge club. Everyone is going to know he thinks there are vampires running around the world.”

“You don’t think there’s anything strange about Anna Breznik?” his boss asked.

“Define strange,” Evan said. “Are you talking about cultural differences or what?”

Marek didn’t answer, just studied him with a blank expression.

Evan met his gaze with a direct one of his own. “What are you really asking?”

“Do you know her? Have you met her before?”

“No and no. You know as much about her as I do.”

“Then why are you going to bat for her so hard?”

Evan arched one eyebrow. “She is a diplomat from a foreign country who was kidnapped, shot, and interrogated by a member of the American law enforcement community. She was accused of being a vampire, which if you don’t mind my saying, is fucking crazy by anyone’s definition.” He tilted his head to one side. “How would you like me to act?”

“Sometimes things are done for a variety of reasons,” Marek said.

“What do you know that I don’t?”

The two FBI agents, who’d been watching their exchange with great interest, shifted in their seats, leaning forward.

“Homeland hasn’t shared that with me,” Marek said. “But the Secretary of Homeland Security has assured me that she’s guilty of some seriously bad shit.” His boss smiled, and it wasn’t a nice smile.

Evan raised his hands for a moment. “Hey, the situation has been above my pay grade since the moment I stepped foot on Fort Hamilton Base. You want me to step back, I’ll step back.”

“Did you set off a bomb at the base?” one of the FBI agents asked.

“Nope. I didn’t have the time or opportunity. Ledger, however, had both.” Evan looked both agents over. They didn’t seem interested in going anywhere. “Are you going after your agent or are you going to cut your ties with him?”

“Why do you care?” one of the agents asked.

“Because if you’re going to walk away from him I want to recommend Army Intelligence recruit him. He’s brilliant undercover.”

The FBI agents both looked like he’d hit them in the head with a board.

His boss pursed his lips and waggled his head back and forth. “I don’t know. The CIA might want him more.”

The two FBI agents looked at each other. “Perhaps it’s time to speak with our director.”

“I would if I were you,” Evan said. “It’s damned disrespectful of Homeland to just take him like that.” Evan paused. “Actually, this is the second time they’ve poached him.”

The FBI agents nodded, got to their feet, said goodbye and headed out of the restaurant.

Once they were gone, Marek started laughing and shaking his head. “You left out a lot.”

Evan finished up the food on his plate. “What did I miss?”

His boss gave him a grim smile. “I know you blew up that base.”

“I didn’t blow up the base,” Evan said, with only a touch of outrage.

“Set fire to it, whatever the hell you want to call it. You started it.” Marek shook his head again. “You’re only supposed to use that exit when it’s the only option you have left.”

“It was,” Evan said, keeping it simple. “It was that or watch Ledger torture two innocent people and cause a diplomatic incident.” He pushed his plate away. “Do you know what I don’t get?”

Marek waved his hand to tell Evan to keep talking.

“I want to know his source for this information. I want to know why a guy who’s just smart enough to tie his shoes in the morning was given intel that convinced him Anna Breznik was a vampire? Why did he believe it? What was he promised in order to act on that information?”

“You think he’s compromised?”

“Big time. He’s a lazy, narcissistic asshole. He wouldn’t do anything unless it’s worth his while.”

“Those are some questions I’d like the answers to as well. There’s just one problem.”

“I figured the other shoe was going to drop.” Evan made gimme gestures with his hands. “Okay, hit me with it.”

“I’m supposed to bring you in for a debrief.”

“A debrief, or a trip down Alice’s rabbit hole.”

Marek laughed. After a few seconds, he rubbed his face. “I can always count on your unique view of the world.”

“That was awfully polite,” Evan said. “Are you mic’d up or what?”

“I turned it off about twenty seconds ago.”

Evan stared at his boss, a knife twisting in his guts as if it were looking for something and couldn’t find it.

“You were smart to eat breakfast,” Marek said. “Fuel for the run.”

“Oh, yeah? Who’s coming for me?”

“Homeland. The FBI know nothing about it, so your advice to those two gentlemen might keep Homeland distracted for about five minutes. Your thoughts on who might be the source for Homeland’s info are good ones. If we could break the story and make Ledger look more like a moron than he already does, I think they’d throw him under the bus.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you were invited in, then treated like a disposable fork. Ledger is a political appointment. You have years of experience and a ton of money invested in you by the American government. You are not disposable. Not for this asshole’s delusions.”

“May he choke on a fat cock,” Evan intoned as if he were a priest giving a sermon.

Marek laughed again. “Get the fuck out of here while you still can.”

“Is this going to be a problem for you?”

“God, I hope so.” He sounded like he really was looking forward to it.

“Watch your back,” Evan said. If his boss was looking for an excuse to beat the shit out of someone, there was probably more going on than he was saying. He’d seen Marek play these spy games before. There were usually bodies left in the aftermath.

“Ditto. You got my number?” Marek asked.

“It’s tattooed to the inside of my eyelids.”

Marek snorted a laugh and waved him away. “Keep in touch. I mean it. If things go FUBAR, call me.”

“Will do, boss.” Evan got to his feet and walked out of the restaurant with a loose stride. As he entered the main lobby, one of the twin bruisers met his gaze and angled his head back to his right briefly. Toward the elevator.

Huh .

Evan walked by him and to the right. At the elevators, his brother waited.

“You’re going to have to use the tunnels,” twin two said. “Homeland will be here in less than a minute.”

“I don’t know where I’m going down there.”

“Check your phone. We listened in on your conversation. Go.”

Evan entered the elevator and pressed the button for the parking garage level. He exited the elevator and headed for the dead-end hallway where the entrance to the tunnels was located.

As he opened the door to the janitor’s closet, he heard urgent male voices out by the elevators.

Shit, Homeland.

Evan closed the door behind him and moved quickly to get into the hidden staircase space. He closed that door, making sure it was firmly latched, then waited, silent and unmoving.

Someone opened the door to the Janitor’s room. There were a couple of bangs and a clatter as at least one of the mops or brooms were moved. Someone knocked on the wall, then moved a couple of feet and knocked again.

Looking for a difference in the sound.

Looking for a concealed entrance.

Another set of knocks a couple of feet away from the last set, but they all sounded the same to Evan.

Must have been the same for the person knocking, because there was another clatter and several thumps. Then nothing.

Huh. Whoever built this handy exit had planned ahead.

He waited several minutes to ensure the searchers were really gone before opening the trapdoor and going down the ladder into the tunnel.

It wasn’t pitch black thanks to the yellow emergency style lights every ten feet or so, but it wasn’t well lit either. Getting lost would be easy.

He pulled out his phone and found the map twin one had sent to him. He needed to get to Homeland’s home base in New York City, which wasn’t too far away. They’d had to relocate due to some tricky plumbing problems, so they were temporarily housed in one of the warehouses in the shadow of the High Line.

He’d have to leave the Breznik’s tunnel system and use the subway system to get close to the building. It looked like the closest station was the 34 Street Hudson Yards station.

He plotted out his route and set off. He had one thing going for him on this mission. Homeland would not be expecting him to show up at their house.