“No.” Her friend laughed. “Welllllll, maybe in the beginning. I was just so damn curious.”
They all had been. No other network headquarters had housed vampires who presumably wished to work with the Immortal Guardians instead of against them.
Hell, as far as she knew, no network headquarters had ever housed vampires who didn’t wish to work with the Immortal Guardians. This was new territory.
“And you know I used to have a thing for bad boys,” Cynthia went on.
Emma shook her head. “Until Todd charmed your socks off?”
“Yes.” She smiled. “He’s such a sweetheart.”
He really was. And the two of them were adorable together. Emma envied them. “So what do you know about him?”
“About Todd?”
“No!” Emma said on a laugh. “The new vampire.”
“Oh right. Well, Todd said he seems really young.”
Emma sobered. “He’s a kid?” No one knew how the virus would affect a vampire who wasn’t fully grown when infected, if he or she would age or remain forever trapped in the body of a child.
“No. Todd just thought he seemed… I don’t know… naive, I guess? Like he hadn’t seen or experienced much before his transformation. But he’s definitely college age. Chloe was charged with digging up everything she could on his background.”
Emma sent her a wry smile. “While you peered over her shoulder?”
Cynthia laughed. “Only until she told me to bugger off. Apparently his name is Stuart. He’s from a large family that rarely had enough money to keep their bellies full, poor guy, and was going to college on a scholarship when a vampire transformed him. I tried to pump Todd for more information, but he and the other guards are trying to stay out of sight while Dr. Lipton and Dr. Machen show Stuart around. He said the kid was really nervous. But Cliff is helping out, trying to ease Stuart’s fears and make him feel more comfortable.”
That didn’t surprise Emma. Everything Todd had told Cynthia about Cliff indicated he was a good guy. She hoped like hell the network would be able to cure him or at least prevent him from losing his sanity. Cliff was the only vampire of the three Seth had initially brought in who hadn’t yet had a psychotic break.
He was also the only brother in the mix. And incredibly good-looking. Cynthia had badgered Todd into snapping a pic of the vampires a few months after they’d arrived, then shown it to Emma. Cliff had been laughing at something Vincent, the Latino vampire, had said. As had Joe, the blond vamp. The three men had looked so happy and carefree. Now Vince was gone and Joe was struggling.
Emma spent far too much time thinking about that photo. And Cliff.
What must it be like for him to watch his friends succumb to insanity and see firsthand what awaited him? Did he still harbor hope that the network could spare him that fate? Did he still smile and laugh as he had in that photo?
If so, it said much about his character, his strength, and his courage.
“Hello? Earth to Emma.”
She blinked. “What?”
“I said I’m going to try to get Todd to snap a pic of Stuart.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “You’re going to cost that poor man his job one of these days if you aren’t careful.”
“No I won’t. Who’s going to know?”
“Everyone in this building who has preternaturally sharp hearing.”
“Oh. Damn it! That’s right. I keep forgetting.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Do you think the vampires heard me?”
“You know whispering won’t help, right? Even four stories below, they can still hear everything that happens up here.”
She grimaced. “Sheesh. I hope they can’t hear everything. I love Todd’s spicy veggie soup, but he insists on putting both broccoli and cabbage in it.”
Amusement filled Emma. “Kablammo.”
“Exactly. You know your man truly loves you when he doesn’t complain about his cooking making you super farty.”
Emma laughed.
A thunderous boom pierced Emma’s ears and seemed to vibrate through her at the same time the floor and walls shook.
Starting violently, she grabbed her desk and held on when her chair started to roll away from it. Her pen and pencil holder tumbled over the side and hit the floor. Dust and pieces of Sheetrock fell from the ceiling.
Cynthia yelped and held on to the arms of her chair.
Silence fell as they stared at each other with wide eyes.
“What the hell was that?” Cynthia whispered.
Emma’s heart slammed against her ribs. “I think it was an explosion.” Her mind raced, seeking a possible