Declan tensed and pulled me back by the edge of my shirt so abruptly I let out a small shriek of surprise. He grabbed for his stake.
My stomach lurched and every muscle in my body stiffened the moment I saw the assistant’s fangs.
He was a vampire.
He smiled uneasily, his gray eyes moving to Declan’s sharp silver stake. “I guess Dr. Reynolds didn’t mention me yet?”
Declan moved himself in front of me. “No. He sure the hell didn’t.”
“Please relax. I mean you no harm.”
“Wish I could say the same,” Declan growled.
Dr. Reynolds’s face looked tight. “Lawrence is my assistant. I’m so accustomed to having him around that I sometimes neglect to let others know beforehand what he is. It’s not an issue for me.”
“What the hell is going on?” I demanded. This unexpected revelation had choked me and I struggled to breathe normally. It was one thing to think there were vampires downstairs, safely locked away. It was an entirely different thing to have one in the same room, wearing a lab coat just like Dr. Reynolds. A little warning would have been nice. A little warning and I wouldn’t have shown up in the first place. “If he gets close enough to get a whiff of the Nightshade—”
“He won’t.” Dr. Reynolds moved to stand next to the redheaded vampire, protecting him in a near mirror image to what Declan was doing for me.
“I already know about you,” Lawrence said. “And I’ll be staying well back just in case.”
I glared at them. “Nice that one of us had some warning.”
Dr. Reynolds spread his hands. “Lawrence has been my research assistant for five years. He was turned against his will a year ago but retained his good sense and human morals, enough for me to trust him to stay on as my assistant. He believes as I do that most vampires are a threat that needs to be eliminated.”
Lawrence stepped out from behind Dr. Reynolds, keeping a wary eye on Declan, who hadn’t budged or said a word, but I could feel the menace coming off him in waves. He wasn’t happy about this little unexpected turn of events. That made two of us.
“Many vampires keep their human personalities,” Lawrence said evenly. “I’m one of them. I value my job here. Victor and I have a great deal in common.”
I wasn’t letting down my guard yet. “Like what?”
His expression shadowed, and I could see pain there. “He knows what it’s like to lose a wife.”
I shivered at his bleak tone. “What do you mean?”
His throat worked as he swallowed. “Susan accepted me after I was turned. But—she disappeared without a trace six months ago. I’ve been searching for her, desperate to find her.”
“We think she was taken by another vampire,” Dr. Reynolds said. “But I don’t think anyone should give up hope yet.”
Lawrence took a shaky breath and nodded. “I’m trying.”
“I know.”
“We should have been told about this up front.” Declan’s voice didn’t hold a whole lot of empathy. He held on to me so tight I thought my arm might bruise—sometimes Declan didn’t know his own dhampyr strength. But I didn’t try to pull away. “You having a vampire assistant, no matter what the story is behind it, doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy about being here. It’s f**ked up.”
“If I had told you, you might not have returned.” Dr. Reynolds adjusted his glasses. The stiffness in his expression made me think he was having trouble speaking cordially to Declan. With his prejudices against dhampyrs, the two would never become best friends. “You might think I had ulterior motives in bringing you here, but you’re not the only ones who were kept in the dark.”
I watched him warily. “What are you talking about?”
“You, Jillian.” Dr. Reynolds turned to look at me directly, his gaze sweeping over me from head to foot. “When I heard about the Nightshade formula, I had assumed it was a slow-moving poison that would weaken its victim over time, something that would lead eventually to death. But it’s not like that at all, is it?”
I let out a shaky laugh. “No, it’s a bit more immediate than that.”
“It’s amazing, is what it is.”
I grimaced. “I have other words to describe it. Amazing isn’t one of them.”
“When a vampire bites you, only seconds need to pass before it dies.”