Dark Peril Page 0,155

walk blindly into a trap for anyone. Stand aside or challenge me, but think carefully before you do." His tone dripped contempt.

The room darkened. The tension stretched to a taut, thin margin. Hissing, Flaviu backed away from Dominic. The vampire sitting in the chair jumped to his feet, knocking the techs out of his way.

"Henric," Flaviu snapped sharply.

Instantly the lesser vampire stopped his forward motion, but his eyes glowed red with hatred. Without another word, the two vampires left the room. Dominic allowed a brief flare of satisfaction.

They're going to be waiting for you. The first chance they get, they'll ambush you.

I am well aware of that. I will lead them straight to you.

Good idea. I'm getting bored while you're having all the fun. Work your magic, Dominic, and get into the main room.

I scanned the techs as I came in, and none of them knows the security code to the room.

He glanced at the men, who immediately looked away and went back to their respective workstations, each clutching a vial of blood. He moved closer to one of the stations. Several vials of blood were labeled with various names, Brodrick's most prominent. Someone wanted to see if the jaguar-men had an effect on parasites. He moved closer and tested the nearest tech for resistance.

His brain was wide open, which made sense. The vampires would want men they could easily influence working the computers in the laboratory. He attacked swiftly, piercing the man's mind to search for the experiments. He shared his findings with Solange.

The techs believe the men working in this region have all been infected with an unknown parasite and they are working on a solution. It was suggested to them that the men who live and work here--meaning the shifters, although it is clear the techs do not understand they are shifters--might have built up an immunity against the parasites. So they are testing their blood against the infected blood. They had some results with Brodrick's blood.

Solange brushed against his mind, a gentle, loving slide that shook him with the intensity of feeling in that small, tender gesture.

"What are you doing in here?" The voice was harsh and commanding.

Dominic turned slowly, his gaze falling on the guard. The gun was pointed firmly at his chest and the eyes were flat and cold. He nudged the brain of the tech closest to him.

The tech responded immediately. "He's consulting with me, Felipe."

"Sorry, man," Felipe said, shaking his head. "They've got people coming in from all over and they don't seem right. I thought maybe you were one of them."

Dominic smiled easily. "Yeah, I got the vibe, too. They all seem a little arrogant, like we're beneath them or something." He held out his hand. "Dominic. Hopefully I won't be here that long."

"Felipe," the guard said, taking the extended hand.

Dominic tested his resistance. This man would have the security code to get into the room where the computers were housed. "I can see why everyone is on edge. Who are these people? Why are they here?"

Felipe shrugged. "Brodrick tells us who is coming and when they're going."

Dominic sent him a wave of camaraderie, a subtle testing of the man's acceptance. Felipe grinned at him and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Are you keeping count?"

Felipe nodded. "Damn straight. I want them all gone as soon as Brodrick gives the word. They make everyone nervous. Sooner or later one of the boys is going to accidentally shoot one of them."

"Yeah, that would be terrible," Dominic said, sarcasm dripping from his voice. He pushed a little deeper into the guard's brain. The man really didn't like the visitors, and that could be used to Dominic's advantage. Felipe was head of security and the vampires hadn't thought to protect his brain--of course, none believed a Carpathian hunter would infiltrate their meeting.

"Brodrick's got a couple of his men guarding him. He calls them the `elite' and they certainly think that entitles to them to do whatever they want. Every time a woman gets brought in, they're all over her. And they like to hurt her. They're cruel bastards. We just keep away from that side of the lab when they've got one here." Dominic felt Solange's reaction, her sick, churning stomach, her racing heart, and the sorrow that she couldn't prevent the jaguar-men from kidnapping women and bringing them to a place where others allowed their atrocities. We will make certain Brodrick cannot continue. He sent her the reassurance even as he pushed deeper into the