Connor watched him closely. "Ye have to go to China then?"
"Aye. I'll be going with J.L. and Rajiv."
Connor poured two glasses of Blissky and handed him one. "I know ye never wanted to go back."
Dougal took a sip and relished the burn down his throat. He wasn't happy about going back, but since Leah had wanted to continue with her work, he was determined to help her however he could. "The mission will be headquartered in Japan. The Coven Master there, Kyo, is purchasing an old abandoned school building on a remote island. One classroom will be turned into a modern laboratory for Abby, Leah, and Laszlo. Then the other classrooms will be changed into dorm rooms, no' just for the people working there but for any captured soldiers we bring out of China."
"Ye plan to keep them prisoner at this old school?" Connor asked.
"Aye. We'll keep them sedated or in stasis. Apparently, it will take time to change the mutated soldiers back to normal. One injection is no' enough."
Connor frowned. "What will keep Darafer and Master Han from rescuing them?"
"They'll be guarded constantly. And we'll keep them knocked out so they canna attempt to contact Darafer mentally." Dougal sighed. "But it is the weakest link in the plan." He shrugged. "What else can we do? We canna set up the operation in China without being attacked by Master Han's army or being noticed by the government. And Romatech is no longer safe. Besides, it is too far away to teleport a large number of prisoners."
Connor nodded. " 'Tis a tricky situation to be sure." He sipped some Blissky. "This Leah ye brought with you is one of the scientists then?"
"Aye. She's a doctor. Dr. Lee hired her to be his standby, but she also has a Ph.D. in genetics, so she's the one figuring out how to undo the damage wrought by Darafer."
"Och, ye're proud of her." Connor's mouth twitched. "Though it sounds to me like she's too smart for you."
Dougal snorted and drank more Blissky.
"Is she the one?"
Dougal swallowed so fast his eyes watered. "I doona-" He stopped. What was the point in feigning ignorance?
When Connor had drained his blood, drawing the last drop from his veins, he'd also sucked all of Dougal's memories into his mind. And then, when Connor had fed his vampire blood back to Dougal in order to complete the transformation, all of Connor's memories had been embedded in his blood. They knew each other's pasts. All the secrets, all the regrets, all the sins, and all the joys.
It didn't always happen that way. Dougal had learned since then that most vampires were strong enough to shield their minds when transforming a mortal. Connor had been strong enough, but after experiencing Dougal's painful past, he'd shared his own.
It had been an unspoken pact between the two of them never to tell anyone else what they knew. For almost three hundred years, they had protected each other's backs and each other's secrets.
"Did ye find forgiveness?" Dougal asked.
Connor's mouth curled up slightly. "Aye."
Dougal swallowed hard. "That's good. I'm glad for you."
"It is good. Ye should try it sometime."
Dougal sighed. Could he ever deserve forgiveness? Or deserve Leah's love?
"Is she the one ye've been searching for?" Connor asked quietly.
Dougal nodded. "I believe so."
"Good." Connor finished his Blissky and set his glass down. "Ye've suffered enough."
Dougal winced. He had a bad feeling there was more suffering in store for him. But hopefully not for Leah. Somehow, he would keep her safe. "I canna fail her like I did Li Lei."
Connor patted him on the back. "Ye'll be fine. 'Twill all work out in the end."
Dougal gave him a wry look. "Since when did ye become an optimist?"
He smiled. "I've learned to have faith. Come on." He strode toward the door. "I want to meet this lass who's too smart for you."
Chapter Eighteen
"He's beautiful," Leah whispered as she watched the little boy sleeping in the crib, his pink cheeks and blond hair nestled against a blue pillow. "He looks like you."
"Thank you." Marielle smiled as she gazed at her son. "But when he's being stubborn, which is most of the time, I say that he takes after his father."
"Can I ask you a personal question?" When Marielle nodded, Leah continued, "How does it work-I mean, do you like being married to a vampire?"
Marielle's mouth twitched. "Are you contemplating a similar marriage?"
"No, no." Leah waved a dismissive hand. "I'm just curious."
"I see," Marielle said, although her eyes still glinted with humor. "Well, I know very little about other marriages, but I believe mine is very happy. Even our housekeeper says it works wonderfully well."
"She knows your husband is a vampire?"
"Yes. She even told me she'd like a vampire of her own. Do you know why?"
Because he might be gorgeous, sweet, and sexy like Dougal? Leah shook her head. "I have no idea."
"Because you never have to cook for them. And they never snore."
"Right." 'Cause they sleep like the dead.
"I can't imagine being married to anyone but Connor. And Gabriel-" Marielle glanced down at the sleeping boy. "I am still in awe that I actually gave birth. To have life growing inside me, then to see him, and hold him in my arms. There is so much love in my heart, I feel like it could burst."
Leah gazed at the little boy, and a vision flashed across her mind of a little boy with black curly hair and green eyes. She pushed the thought aside. Dougal seemed to be constantly monopolizing her thoughts. "Is it true you were an angel?"
Marielle nodded and led her toward the nursery door. "Not a very good one, I'm afraid. I didn't always follow orders. When I was a Healer, I healed two children I wasn't supposed to."
"You saved their lives?" Leah stepped into the hall with her. "How could that be bad?"
"One grew up to be a serial killer."
Leah winced.
Marielle headed toward the staircase. "When I became a Deliverer, I disobeyed again. My wings were stripped off, and I was cast upon the earth. That's when Connor found me, and I fell in love."
"But surely, as an angel, you already knew about love."
"Yes." Marielle paused at the head of the stairs. "For millennia, I was one of the Heavenly Host, a part of the whole. We were connected to each other, always communicating with each other and singing praises to the Heavenly Father. We could always feel His presence, so we were surrounded by love, and filled with love for His children."
Leah's skin prickled with goose bumps. "It sounds . . . heavenly."
"It was." Marielle smiled with a wistful look. "It was a warm and peaceful sort of love, a love for everyone. But with Connor, it all changed. All of a sudden, love was personal and . . . fierce. There was a desperation to it, so powerful that I could not live without him."
"So you gave up Heaven for him?"
With a sigh, Marielle started down the stairs. "When I was cast out for disobedience, I was afraid that I was a fallen angel and that I was doomed for hell. But now I realize that my rebellious nature didn't mean I was evil. It only meant I was human." She shrugged. "So I'm convinced I'm where I'm supposed to be. Connor needed me more than Heaven did. And the Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways."
"I see."
Marielle smiled at her. "I'm probably talking your ears off. We don't get much company here. How long will you be able to stay?"
"A day or two, I suppose."
Marielle touched her arm. "We'll take good care of you here. Why, I could take you on a tour tomorrow." She smiled proudly. "I've learned how to drive."
"That sounds great, but I should check with Dougal."
Marielle waved a dismissive hand. "He'll be in his death-sleep. Come on. We'll go to Inverness and go shopping. You can get your own kilt! And I'll show you Loch Ness on the way, and Urquhart Castle."
Leah grinned. "I'd love to."
"Great!" Marielle hugged her. "Let's go to the kitchen and have some shortbread to celebrate. I've been learning how to cook, too!"
Leah followed her, smiling. Who would have known a week ago that she would acquire two new friends-Abby and Marielle. And a suitor who just happened to be a vampire.
"There ye are." Dougal smiled at Leah as he entered the kitchen with Connor. She smiled back, her hands curled around a large mug with a cartoonish Nessie pictured on it. She was seated across from Marielle at the long wooden table, where they were having hot tea and shortbread.
Connor took two bottles of Bleer from the fridge and brought them to the table. "Och, that shortbread looks good."
"It is," Leah agreed.
"Thank you." Marielle turned to her husband as he sat beside her. "Leah's going to spend the day with me and Gabriel tomorrow. We're going to Inverness!"
"Sounds great." Connor cast an amused look at Dougal. "Apparently, ye'll be staying here awhile."
"That's fine." Dougal sat beside Leah and twisted the top of his bottle of Bleer. "We have some time before we move the mission to Japan."