she reached the edge of the shade provided by the oak trees sprinkled about.
Only a few feet separated them.
“Bullshit,” Emma countered. “Bastien wouldn’t lie to Cliff and follow him around if he trusted him.”
“He didn’t lie.”
Emma arched a brow.
Melanie grimaced. “Okay. Damn it. I guess he did, but not for the reason you think. He trusts Cliff. We both do. Cliff is a good man, Emma. An exceptional man. Honorable to his core and so strong. The other two vampires who came to live at the network the same time Cliff did succumbed to the insanity in an alarmingly short period of time. One asked Bastien to end it for him. The other…” Her throat worked in a swallow. “The other was too far gone after the mercenaries’ torture. We tried to reach him but couldn’t. So we had to let him go.”
She blinked several times, dispelling the moisture that rose in her brown eyes. “One of those vampires had been infected a year later than Cliff. We don’t know why or how Cliff has held on to his sanity this long. Most vampires don’t. But he has defied the odds, Emma. Cliff is incredibly strong-willed and determined not to become…” She shook her head helplessly. “Well. He’s determined not to become what he’s destined to become if my colleagues and I can’t find a cure for the virus that won’t kill him.”
What was left of the afterglow that had remained with Emma all morning vanished.
Resentment flooded her. Why was this woman here? Why couldn’t they just leave Cliff alone? Leave her alone? She’d been happy. Cliff had been happy. Couldn’t they have one damned night and day of bliss without someone shoving doom and gloom down their throats? “So while Cliff thinks he’s been given two hours of freedom,” she said tightly, “Bastien has been following him around and—what—waiting for him to lose it?”
Dr. Lipton’s eyes widened. “No! No, of course not!” She bit her lip. “I mean, that is a concern. It would be much better for Cliff if any psychotic breaks he experiences take place in the safety of the network. But our primary concern is that Cliff may inadvertently go too far to gain information for the network and end up being attacked by whatever pack of vampires he’s pumping for information.” She reached out as though to touch Emma’s arm but stopped midmotion and lowered her hand. “It meant so much to Cliff when he saw with his own eyes how many people he helped the morning mercenaries blitzed the network. He’s so afraid that if we aren’t able to halt the brain damage, people will only see him as a monster. That that’s how he’ll be remembered.”
How he’ll be remembered after the insanity progressed to the point that he chose to die.
Just the thought of it sent pain streaking through Emma.
“We’re just worried he’ll try too hard to avoid that fate by being the hero and will seriously endanger himself. That’s why Bastien secretly followed him and stayed downwind. He wants to be close so he can jump in and protect Cliff if the vampires realize he’s an ally of the Immortal Guardians and attack. Vampires are traveling in larger groups now. Cliff is a superlative fighter, but even Immortal Guardians can find themselves outnumbered.”
Emma’s anger receded. Everything about the woman shouted sincerity. And the argument seemed both logical and worrisome.
Was Cliff taking unnecessary risks while he was out hunting alone?
She glanced down at her shoes. Dr. Lipton’s name had come up at lunch on multiple occasions. Each time Cliff’s words and mannerisms had made it clear that he trusted and cared about her. “So Bastien followed Cliff here last night?” she asked, her voice low.
Melanie nodded.
Emma closed her eyes, replaying everything she and Cliff had said. Everything they’d done. Every word they’d spoken. Every touch. Every gasp or moan of ecstasy. “How long did he stay outside and listen?”
Again Melanie bit her lip. “Long enough to ascertain the depth of your relationship.”
Swearing, Emma turned and paced away. “And by that you mean…?”
“Long enough to know you slept together.”
Fury returned, fast and fierce. Bastien had listened to them. He had stood outside and listened while they made love!
Spinning around, she pointed at Melanie. “That is an incredible invasion of privacy,” she came close to shouting. “He had no right!” No right to tarnish such a beautiful moment. Just the thought of it made her feel sick inside.