Raj closed his eyes briefly and then opened them, giving her a patient look. “Vampires live a long time. We've developed a highly structured society in order to survive, for protection from each other as well as from humans with torches and stakes. When that structure was first conceived, there was no such thing as a democracy. And it wouldn't work anyway. Vampires are more than just humans who stay awake at night.” He stepped closer suddenly and locked his gaze with hers. “Remember that, Sarah. Vampires are dangerous and unpredictable, no matter how human they might appear."
"Okay,” she said in a small voice. “I'm properly terrified."
He moved back a bit. “No need to be afraid of Em."
"Are you two . . .” She let the words fall away, embarrassed that she'd even asked the question.
Raj smiled a little too smugly. “Would it bother you if we were?"
"No, of course not. I just—"
"Well, we're not. Em's my best friend and my lieutenant. But there's never been anything else between us."
"Oh. Well. Okay.” Sarah cleared her throat nervously. “So what now?"
"Now, you get back in the car and stay there. This won't take long.” He took her arm and bundled her back into the BMW, shutting the door firmly. “Stay there,” he said through the window as she hit the button to lower it. “And put the window back up. Emelie's not the only vampire in there."
As he walked away from the car, Sarah thought she heard him mutter, “And I've no intention of sharing.” But she might have been wrong.
Chapter Twenty-three
Raj did a final scan of the area, checked that Sarah was sitting in the hopefully locked car as promised and pulled open the warehouse door, ready to apologize to Em. The lights were on inside, too low for human eyes but just right for a vampire. And the large space was no longer empty. Four big SUVs, all black with black-tinted windows, were parked near the loading bay doors. Over near the big refrigerator, the eight members of the team Emelie had brought from Manhattan were engaged in various activities. Some lounged, watching the big screen TV, wearing cordless headphones to preserve the facade of silence from outside the warehouse. Others were checking gear, mostly guns and knives. Vampires didn't need much in the way of hardware. With their strength, speed and fangs, they were their own deadliest weapon. But a gun came in handy sometimes, and knives were always fun.
Em was in conversation with Abel, one of Raj's oldest and most reliable children. Abel caught Raj's eye and nodded to him, the big diamond in his ear winking happily against his nearly black skin. Emelie finished whatever she'd been saying and walked over, detouring around a table loaded down with computer gear and electronics. The team's tech wizard, a human named Simon, was set up there, fingers flying over a keyboard while ear pods blasted music so loudly that Raj could hear it from where he stood.
Emelie's eyes were downcast as she drew closer. To his horror, she went down on one knee and said, “My apologies, my lord. I did not realize—"
"Jesus Christ, Em, get up!” Raj pulled her to her feet. “I'm the one who has to apologize. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I don't know what's wrong with me."
Em studied him, her dark, brown eyes solemn, the lovely planes of her face showed off to advantage by a tight ponytail pulled up high on her head. “Raj, my friend,” she said softly. “That's not true. I only spent a few minutes with the two of you, but I know what's happening. And so do you."
Raj matched her serious gaze for a few breaths. When he looked away, he swore viciously. “Fuck! Why now? Why her? Jesus Christ, Em, this city's a total mess. Krystof's making new vampires like they're nothing but toys, someone's kidnapping women from blood houses, and now her! I don't f**king need this!"
His voice had gotten louder and louder until it drew the attention of the vampires on the other side of the room. They'd all stopped what they were doing. Even the TV watchers had pulled their headphones off. They might not mean to eavesdrop, but they couldn't help it if he was going to shout like an idiot. He drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I can't deal with this right now. There's too much at stake. I can't afford to be distracted by some little bit of a girl who thinks vampires are something she reads about in books with half-naked men on the covers."
Em's mouth tightened in an obvious effort to keep from laughing, but her eyes gave her away. “Why not just take the girl, boss?” she asked practically. “Maybe that's all you need—a quick sip, a roll in the hay and you're a free vamp."
"And if not? Then she's bound to a f**king vampire for the rest of her life. Not to mention, things are about to get hairy around here, and there are plenty of vampires who'd love to get their hands on her if she's linked to me. She doesn't deserve to get tangled up in all this."
Em shrugged. “Maybe you should let Sarah make that decision for herself. She's a grown woman, you know, not a child. Besides, there are worse things in life than being bound to a vampire, especially one as powerful as you are."
Raj just scowled at her. “Why don't we drop the subject of my love life?"
Em shrugged and said, “You're the boss. You want to tell me what's going on, or you want to brief everyone at once?"
"Let's do it all at once. I don't like leaving Sarah out there alone."
"So bring her inside."
"No,” he said instantly.
Em raised her brows significantly, shaking her head as she led Raj over to where the team waited.
"All right, people,” Raj started. “Here's what we've got. Several human women have disappeared in the last month, all connected somehow to vampire activities. The last one is the daughter of William Cowens.” He looked around and saw every member of his team nodding knowledgeably.
"It was Cowens who insisted the police follow up on the vampire angle. Krystof agreed to cooperate, mostly, I think, because he was sure there was nothing to it and it was an easy way to get some good citizen credit. He called me in to take the heat, and if there was fallout, to make sure it didn't fall on him. No surprises so far.
"But.” He paused, meeting the eyes of every one of his people. “Recent information leads me to believe there might actually be a vampire involved. I'm not certain if Krystof knows about it or not, but he clearly feels threatened by someone or something, and I don't think it's just me. He's making new vampires left and right, so many that Jozef doesn't even know about all of them.