Secret Life of a Vampire(23)

Phineas lounged back in his chair. "Limp dick."
Connor arched a brow. "Excuse me?"
"I wasn't referring to you," Phineas muttered.
Connor continued to stare at him.
"The Apollo dude's a limp dick," Phineas explained. "He has to use mind control to catch a woman. If he was the Love Doctor like me, the ladies would naturally succumb to his sophisticated charm and manly physique."
Jack chuckled. He'd been in New York for almost four weeks, and in that time, he hadn't noticed any women succumbing to Dr. Phang.
Connor cleared his throat. "I believe it is time for you to make another round."
Phineas frowned. "I did one ten minutes ago."
"And a good job ye did, too," Connor said. "Off ye go, lad."
Phineas trudged toward the door. "I'm more than just a babe magnet, you know. I can tell you want to talk to Jack in private."
Connor's eyes twinkled. "Och, ye're verra astute."
"Yeah, you bet your plaid-covered ass I am." Phineas flipped up the collar of his Polo shirt. "Dr. Phang is one astute son of a bitch." He closed the door behind him.
Jack sat in the chair Phineas had vacated. "I hope you've trained Dr. Phang well. I would hate to lose him in battle."
"He's become a verra good swordsman. Ian and Dougal taught him." Connor narrowed his eyes. "He would benefit from some lessons from you. I would say ye're actually the best swordsman in Europe, but if Jean-Luc heard that, he would skewer me."
Jack smiled. Jean-Luc had been claiming himself the European champ for centuries. "I'll be sure to tell him. He's too vain, as it is."
Connor snorted, and turned his attention to the surveillance monitors.
Jack glanced at them and spotted Phineas leaving through a side entrance. The Vamp's body blurred as he raced into the wooded grounds that surrounded Romatech. "I'll fit in a practice session with him before dawn."
"Good." Connor drummed his fingers on the desk, then stopped abruptly. '"How much does the girl know?"
Jack wiped his face blank. "Nothing."
Connor studied him carefully. "Is she …  intellectually challenged?"
His mouth ticked. "No."
"The more time she spends with you, the more suspicious she'll become. And the more ye'll be tempted to tell her too much."
"She knows nothing," Jack said. "It's the other police officers we need to be concerned about. So far, they don't know anything about Apollo. We need to keep it that way. We can't afford to let them actually solve this case."
"I agree. Nothing is more important than keeping our existence a secret." Connor gave him a pointed look.
Jack glared back. "She knows nothing."
Connor looked away, frowning. "I'll tell Angus about this Apollo problem. And I'll have Roman send out a memo to all the minor coven masters in America. Perhaps one of them will know of a resort with classical Greek-style architecture in their district."
Jack nodded. "Excellent idea."
"Hopefully, we can locate Apollo's resort in a few nights," Connor continued. "I assume the place will be fenced off and have a few daytime guards. Apollo's control over the ladies' minds may be weaker during the day, while he's in his death-sleep."
"True. And he can't afford to let any of the women escape." Jack frowned as he wondered how many women Apollo might have killed. "I'll compile a list of missing college students." Especially pretty redheaded females.
"Good." Connor glanced at the surveillance monitors. "Do ye know which police officers are working the case?"
"I could find out. They'll be working out of the precinct where Columbia University is located."
"That would be Morningside Heights. We should erase their memories." Connor looked at Jack. "We should erase the memories of every mortal who knows about this case."
Jack gripped the arms of his chair. "Lara is immune. Her memory cannot be erased."
"By you," Connor finished softly.
Jack gritted his teeth. "My psychic powers are as strong as any Vamp's."
"I doona mean to insult you, but I have to question if ye really tried. Deep inside, ye may no' have wanted her to forget you."
"I tried," Jack growled. "Laszlo tried, too. We couldn't get through to her."
"Then ye willna mind if I give it a try."
Jack shot to his feet. "No."
Connor's eyebrows rose. "An interesting reaction."
"Don't play these games with me, Connor. You will leave Lara alone."
The Scotsman heaved a sigh and leaned back in his chair. "What the hell is wrong with you all? Roman, Angus, Jean-Luc, Ian-'tis spreading like a bloody plague. I've been wondering if a Vamp loses his mind once he reaches the ripe old age of five hundred, but I remain unaffected, thank God, and you-ye're just a youngster."
"Two hundred and sixteen years old," Jack said wryly. "Barely out of training pants."
Connor gave him an annoyed look. "There are at least twenty thousand law-abiding Vamps that we know of, and almost half of them are verra bonny and clever women. Why can ye no' dally with one of them?"
Jack shrugged. "I never intended this to happen."
"Do ye no' realize that ye risk the lives of every Vamp around the world when ye tell a mortal our secret? Ye doona have the right to endanger us all."
"I haven't told her anything."
"Yet." Connor rubbed his brow. "I've seen this happen too many times now. Ye're acting just as sick as the others did."
"Love isn't sick. Amore is the most powerful and positive force in the universe."
"Ye've known her-what-two weeks? Ye canna call it love. 'Tis a bad case of lust, nothing more."
Jack paced across the room. No, he'd lusted before. He'd loved before. He knew the difference. "This is more than lust."
"It is folly," Connor grumbled.
Maybe so, but was it love? Jack halted and stared into space. How deeply was he falling for Lara?
"Can ye stop seeing her?" Connor asked softly.
Could he? There were only a few things he had to do to survive. Hide from the sun. Drink blood. When looked at that way, the life of a Vamp seemed endlessly monotonous.
Every day at sunset, his heart leaped to life in his chest, but for so long he'd felt dead inside. He'd given himself entirely to the cause of fighting the Malcontents, for it gave him a reason to climb out of bed every night. It was a dark life of constant conflict and bloodshed. It had lasted two centuries, and it could go on forever. Merda, he was living in a circle of hell.
Lara felt like an angel who had come to his rescue. All beauty and light. He was no longer living for death, but for amove. He was falling in love.
Love. He'd always believed in true love, but he'd always been unlucky in it. His first love, Beatrice, had died before he could marry her. Her loss had hit him with such devastation that many years passed before love found him again, in 1855. With high hopes he'd told his mistress his secret, only to have her reject him. He'd been forced to erase her memory, but his memory had remained intact, and the pain of losing her had taken years to get over.
In 1932, the same scenario repeated itself. The same pain of losing a woman he loved. He had no doubt that telling Lara the truth would mean losing her. He swallowed hard. He couldn't risk it. He couldn't bear the thought of never seeing her again. Just considering the possibility of losing her was causing his chest to clench painfully.
There was something so special about her. And he wanted to share something special with her, something that he loved. The idea of Venezia came back. "I have to be with her."
"I was afraid of that." Connor strode toward the door. "I'll tell Roman about the situation and start the hunt for Apollo's resort."
"All right." Jack circled the desk to sit in front of the computer. He would spend the next several hours compiling information on missing female college students. He glanced at the Scottish Vamp, who was halfway out the door. "Thank you, Connor, for understanding."
Connor snorted. "What I understand is ye're falling into madness. May God save yer soul."
"Amore can fill your heart with joy and peace," Jack said. "It can make you feel whole."
A pained look crossed Connor's blue eyes. "Or it can rip yer heart in two." He closed the door.
Jack sighed. He'd been there before, left behind with a heart ripped in two. He could only hope it wouldn't happen with Lara.

By late Monday afternoon, Lara was becoming increasingly bored. LaToya was at work, so she was all alone. She'd gone to the department shrink for a one-o'clock appointment, and he had declared her fit for duty, starting on Wednesday night. She considered going to work early so she could access the records on missing persons. But how could she explain that she was working a case she hadn't been assigned to?
She wondered how Jack was doing with the investigation. Actually, she wondered about Jack quite a bit. By four o'clock, she was lounging on the sofa and once again studying the You Don't Know jack list she'd written the night before.
The first list gave all the reasons she was attracted to Jack. Intelligent. Strong. Handsome. Witty. Sexy. Sweet. Gorgeous. Protective. Supportive. Generous. Naughty. Great kisser. And he was so much more. He seemed attuned to her thoughts and feelings, much more than any other man she'd ever met. And he truly cared for her. She could see it in his eyes. When they weren't glowing red.