“Seth,” Melanie spoke kindly, “I’m pretty sure Lisette wouldn’t want you to see her naked.”
“You’re right, of course,” Seth said. “Zach?”
“I’ve already seen her naked,” Zach muttered, his eyes clinging to Lisette.
Seth sighed. “I meant—”
“I’m not leaving her.”
Something unspoken might have passed between Seth and Melanie. Zach wasn’t sure and really didn’t care. Then Seth retreated into the next room.
“Tracy, would you please close the blinds?”
Lisette’s Second closed the blinds.
“Draw the curtain, too,” Melanie instructed, “in case Richart and Étienne come in.”
Tracy pulled a curtain Zach hadn’t even noticed across the doorway. As the mortal woman approached the exam table, her eyes filled with moisture. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Nor could Zach as he rose. Moving to the end of the table, he unlaced one of Lisette’s boots, pulled it off, and let it fall to the floor with a thump. Her sock was wet at the ankle from the blood that had dripped down and soaked it. Her skin beneath was cold.
Zach removed the sock and cupped her small foot between his hands, trying to warm it. When he looked up, he found Tracy watching him.
A tear spilled over her lashes and raced down one cheek. “Are you the reason she needed the house to herself?”
He nodded.
“You care about her?”
“Deeply,” he responded, voice hoarse.
She offered him her hand. “I’m Tracy, her Second.”
Zach removed one hand from Lisette’s foot long enough to shake Tracy’s. “Zach.” He shifted his attention to Lisette’s other boot and began to unlace it.
Tracy turned her tragic gaze on Melanie. “Will David’s blood help her?”
“I don’t know,” the doctor confessed.
Another tear slipped down Tracy’s cheek as her throat moved in a hard swallow. Nodding, she stepped up to the table, took the angled scissors Melanie handed her, and applied them to the sleeve of Lisette’s coat.
Seth teleported to the lobby of the network.
John Wendleck, head of security, greeted him with a smile, having been forewarned with a call. “Good to see you again, sir.”
“Good to see you, John. Do you, by any chance, know where I might find Marcus and Ami?”
John touched the walkie on his shoulder. “Todd?”
“Yes, sir?”
“What’s the immortal’s latest pos?”
“He and his wife are in Cliff’s apartment.”
“Thanks. Seth is on his way down.”
“Yes, sir.”
Whenever Seth and the other immortals visited the East Coast hub of the human network that aided them, they refrained from teleporting unless an emergency warranted it. They also moved around at mortal speeds. Such not only reduced the unease some of the employees felt in the presence of the powerful beings, it also aided the soldiers and guards manning the hallways in telling friend from foe and cut back on surprises that could cause itchy trigger fingers.
Seth took the elevator down to the fifth sublevel.
Every human guard on the premises wielded an automatic weapon and a tranquilizer gun, more necessary than ever now that seven vampires resided there.
Seth greeted Todd and the other guards and strode down the hallway to Cliff’s apartment. He offered the young vampire a courtesy knock.
“Yeah?” Cliff called.
“It’s Seth.”
“Come in.”
Seth waved a hand over the security pad. A clunk sounded, and the heavy door swung open.
Marcus, Ami, and Cliff sat shoulder to shoulder on the sofa, wielding PlayStation controllers as bright images flashed on the large-screen television across from them.
“Hi, Seth,” Ami called cheerfully.
“Hello, sweetheart.”
“Did you get everything cleaned up?” she asked, eyes still on the screen.
Marcus looked at Seth over his shoulder, needing no words to convey his doubt of the sparring tale.
“Almost,” Seth said. “You mind if I borrow Marcus for a moment?”
“As long as you tell me whatever you’re going to tell him when you get back. I’m not as fragile as you think, you know, and am getting a little tired of everyone treating me like I am.”
“I don’t think you’re fragile, Ami,” Cliff threw in. “I bet, even pregnant, you could kick my ass.”
She laughed and motioned to the television. “I can at this anyway.”
He groaned.
Marcus joined Seth out in the hallway and closed the door. They crossed to Melanie’s empty office and sealed themselves inside.
“What happened?” Marcus asked. “I figured it must be bad if you wanted me to get Ami out of there so quickly.”