The_Vampire_With_the_Dragon_Tattoo (Love at Stake #14) Page 0,10

the only way out.

"Her heart is racing," Mr. Draganesti murmured.

She turned toward him, her eyes narrowed.

"Superior hearing," he explained.

"Why should I believe you? Given the situation, anyone could guess that my heart rate would be elevated." A thudding sound startled her, and she whirled about to find that Laszlo had landed on the tile floor.

She rushed toward him, and standing on her tiptoes, she swept her hand through the air over his head. No wires. "How did you do it? Are you wearing special shoes that will lift you in the air? Or maybe it's magnets?"

"It's levitation." Laszlo regarded her sadly. "Do you need me to do it again?"

"No." She grabbed his wrist and pressed her fingers against his vein. "You see?" She dropped his arm. "You have a pulse. You're alive. So stop this crap now!"

"Leah, calm down." Dr. Lee moved toward her.

"I will not!" She stepped back. "And I'm not working for you anymore. This is a cruel joke, and I won't put up with it!"

"Leah, for God's sake." Dr. Lee gave her a beseeching look. "We're not trying to be cruel. Just honest."

"No!" She shook her head. "I won't listen! Vampires aren't real. You're lying to me! You're lying - "

"Dammit, don't make me erase your memory again!" Dr. Lee winced and lifted his hands. "I didn't mean it like that. We would never hurt you. You have to believe us."

A chill swept over Leah, and she shivered. "You . . . what did you do?"

Dr. Lee dragged a hand through his short gray hair. "This is so damned frustrating. I tried to tell you the truth a few days ago, but you didn't take it well."

"You - you erased my memory?"

"You were having a panic attack. It seemed like the best way to calm you down."

Leah struggled to breathe. Oh God, was that why the past few days were a blur? He'd . . . tampered with her mind?

"My dear child," Roman said softly. "Perhaps you should sit down?"

"You look very pale," Abby added.

"I don't faint." Leah stumbled toward the far wall, where a countertop and sink were located. She didn't know whether to be angry or . . . scared to death. Her mind had been tampered with? Dr. Lee had that kind of power?

She glanced at herself in the mirror over the sink and grimaced at her pale, stricken look. Damn them all. She would not allow anyone to alter her memory. She would remember this.

But did that mean she had to accept a new reality, one that was occupied with vampires? With trembling fingers, she turned on the cold water.

"Let me help." Abby joined her at the sink and pulled some paper towels from the nearby dispenser.

She eased away a few inches.

"Leah, please," Abby whispered. "I'm mortal. And a scientist like you. I had trouble accepting it, too." She folded the towels into a pad and moistened it under the cold running water. "Here, press this against the back of your neck."

Leah accepted the damp pad and looked in the mirror over the sink. She and Abby were reflected there, and the stainless steel table in the background. No Laszlo.

She glanced back, and with a gasp, she dropped the damp pad to the floor. Roman Draganesti was standing right behind her. "What? How did you - ?" She turned back to the mirror.

He wasn't there.

"Do you believe us now?" his voice spoke softly behind her.

The room swirled, and she gripped the edge of the counter. Vampires are real? It wasn't scientifically possible. She squeezed her eyes shut. Had her world just turned upside down? Had she stumbled into an alternate reality? Was she hallucinating?

"Take deep breaths," Abby whispered. "You'll be okay."

Leah shook her head. No, it would never be okay. Her safe and scientific world had crumbled around her. What was left to rely on? How could she even trust her instincts, when they were telling her she'd lost her mind?

A cold sweat broke out on her skin. She cupped her hands in the cold running water, and her eyes burned at the sight of her shaky hands. Was this really happening to her?

She splashed water on her face, then straightened to watch the rivulets running down her face in the mirror. It was real. Was the vampire still behind her? She cupped more water in her hands and tossed it over her shoulder.

A wincing sound. She turned and found Mr. Draganesti standing behind her, wiping droplets of water off his shirt and