Once Bitten, Twice Dead - By Bianca D'Arc Page 0,14

right. But I won’t wait long.”

The female doctor was out the door like a shot. Xavier raised one eyebrow at her abrupt departure and sent a glance Sarah’s way. She was eyeballing the doctors, making them fidget. Man, that woman had real presence when she chose to use it. He recognized that ability as part of what went into making her such an effective cop. She might be petite, but she was mighty.

The orderly was there in record time. Sarah rolled her eyes as she sat in the wheelchair but allowed the man to wheel her out of the room and into the elevator. Xavier was at her side throughout. He grinned at the doctors right before the elevator doors closed them out. Round one to the lady in the uniform.

Xavier had left his ride in the drive. It was an official vehicle, and he hadn’t planned to be there long. As he’d expected, he’d been upstairs less than ten minutes, and the vehicle was still there, waiting for them when the orderly let Sarah off at the curb.

She stood at Xavier’s side, barely coming up to his shoulder. Something inside him wanted to see her smile. Or, if not smile, then laugh, even if it was at his expense.

“You certainly live up to your last name, don’t you, ma petite?”

“It’s pronounced ‘Petit.’ Like ‘pet it.’”

He couldn’t resist a little risqué humor. It was, after all, his specialty. “Oh, ma belle, I’d love to pet yours. Thought you’d never ask.”

She laughed. Bingo. Mission accomplished.

“I bet you would, you French perv.”

“Cajun, actually. There’s a difference.”

“Really? Aside from the obvious geographical distinctions, what’s the difference?”

“We Cajuns are much better lovers. Smarter, too. We don’t waste time on manicures and fifty-dollar haircuts. We have all the finesse of the French, tempered by the machismo of being true-blue American.”

“Don’t forget all that humility,” she scoffed, and he laughed right along with her.

The guy had a sense of humor and a giant-sized ego that could take a hit. Despite herself, she was beginning to like him. He had a government vehicle waiting for him. Not the usual black town car. This thing was a behemoth camouflage Humvee. This was no dressed-up civilian version with shiny trim. This was the real deal.

A gentleman with apparently excellent manners when he chose to use them, Xavier opened the door for her. She grabbed the door frame for leverage, jumping up into the high seat. He secured the door after her. Scooting around to the driver’s side, Xavier climbed in and started the vehicle. The engine purred like a rhinoceros—or something equally big and mean.

Despite the bad gas mileage and impracticality of driving something this huge on the crowded streets of Long Island, Sarah had to admit to a little thrill at being in one of the real military vehicles. Deep inside, where her inner child lived, she thought these tanklike cars were just cool. Not that she’d ever admit it out loud.

He maneuvered the wide vehicle deftly out of the parking area and onto the road without incident. Unerringly, Xavier headed in the direction of the old building where Sarah’s odyssey had begun a week ago.

“I thought we’d retrace your steps at the scene first, unless you’d rather start somewhere else.” He looked at her questioningly.

“No, retracing the incident is as good a place as any to start. Maybe we can find something at the scene to tell us where the perps might’ve gone.”

“One more thing…” Xavier reached over and popped open a compartment built into the dash in front of her. There was a pistol inside. “This is for you.”

Sarah took hold of the pistol and carefully removed it from the protective covering to look at it. It wasn’t a run-of-the-mill weapon. Instead of bullets, it was loaded with some kind of dart.

“A dart gun?” She was puzzled by the lack of firepower. “Wouldn’t hollow points be more effective?”

“Bullets don’t work on the dead, Sarah. We can’t kill them twice. They don’t even feel pain. Direct hits with conventional ammo from close range don’t even slow them down.” He paused while she digested that information.

“What’s in these? Not tranqs, right?” She gestured toward the pistol in her lap.

“The darts contain a toxin developed specifically to deal with these guys. It interferes with the bonds that hold them together on a cellular level. It breaks those bonds, and the creatures…dissolve, for lack of a better word. Once the toxin takes effect, there isn’t much left. Use extreme caution