Part 22 (1/2)

Chapter 29.

M elissa was nearly half an hour late for work, for the first time in her life. As she thought of the reason why and shot a shy glance at Sebastian, she smiled.

It had definitely been worth it. She gripped Sebastian's hand tightly.

It was a good feeling to have first thing in the morning, she thought, waving at Sara as they walked past the nurses' station. Her friend gave her a knowing look and a wink.

Heat blossomed across her cheeks, but that didn't stop Melissa's smile from growing broader as she strolled down the hall and around the bend to her office, Sebastian beside her. She paused at her door, tried the handle. Still locked, she thought with satisfaction.

She unlocked the door and stepped inside.

That was when she heard a loud thud followed by the forceful closing of the door.

She whirled. Sebastian lay on the ground, an ugly bruise already forming on the side of his face. Blood trickled from a cut along his brow. Standing over him, a gun with a silencer in his hand, was Edward Sloan. ”Good morning, my dear.”

His manner was calm in a way that was disturbing.

”What are you doing?” She took a step toward Sebastian, but stopped short as Edward aimed the gun in her direction.

”I think you know, Melissa. The lab. The rats. The fake blood,” he said in tones so sedate that it was frightening.

Somehow she mustered bravado, trying not to reveal her fear for both herself and Sebastian. ”You didn't think I'd use the real deal, did you, Edward?”

”I was hoping you'd be foolish enough, like your father-”

”The only foolish thing he did was trust you.” ”My, my. We've grown some spine, haven't we?”

”Yes, we have,” she answered, irritated by his demeanor and inexplicably filled with a new sense of power. The worst had finally happened and she was ready for it.

Edward lowered the muzzle of the gun toward Sebastian's head. ”Do you know what a.22 does inside a person's brain?”

At her silence, he continued, ”Most people think it's the shot itself that kills, but it isn't. It's the way the bullet ricochets around inside the skull, scrambling the brains until there's nothing worthwhile left.”

He bent a little more until the muzzle of the gun was barely inches from Sebastian's head. ”Then it kills them.”

”What do you want, Edward?” She surprised herself at how calm she sounded.

He rose, but kept the gun trained on Sebastian's head. ”The blood and the process.”

”You have the journal, don't you?” She placed her arms across her chest.

”But that doesn't tell me anything.” The words burst from his lips. He dragged a hand through his thinning hair and strands came away in his fingers. At her shocked expression, he said, ”Surprised? You of all people should know what chemo can do to a body.”

”Is that why-”

”Would that help ease your pain? To know that I did it because I was dying?”

That would have made it a little easier for her to reconcile the Edward she had known for so long with the murderous coward now standing before her, she thought. But she didn't need to hear his next words to know the truth.

”At first I wasn't dying. It was about the power and the money. The NSA didn't believe me, but I knew there were others who would pay handsomely for something as wondrous as what your father had stumbled upon.”

He paced as he continued with his story. Melissa heard his words, but she wasn't listening. She was wondering how she could get Sebastian out of harm's way. Maybe if she moved slowly enough, she could reach the cell phone clipped to her waist and alert Ryder. At the slight movement of her hand, Edward regained his focus and aimed the gun straight at her head.

”Scrambled, remember?” He lowered the gun to Sebastian's head. He pulled the trigger. There was a m.u.f.fled pop. The bullet ripped into the carpet barely inches from Sebastian's head, leaving a small but deadly looking hole. ”Take that as a warning. Next time I won't miss.”

Melissa inched her hand away from the cell phone. ”What next, Edward? If we stand here all day, eventually someone will walk through that door looking for me.”

”And we wouldn't want that. We have enough dead bodies already don't we?”

”So where do we go from here?”

”Somewhere more private.” He motioned with the gun toward the door. When she moved, he grabbed the raincoat off the arm of her sofa. Draping it over the hand holding the gun, he stepped behind her and jabbed the muzzle into her back. She was about to open the door when he said, ”Hold on a minute.”

Edward reached to her side, unclipped the cell phone and tossed it on the couch. ”GPS chips are a wondrous thing, aren't they?”

s.h.i.+t. Of course Edward would leave nothing to chance. He hadn't left any clues so far and the body count was up to five. ”Please open the door. Go to the stairs. I've got a car waiting for us at the curb.”

She did as he asked. Knowing that he wouldn't take her by the nurses' station made her alternately grateful-she didn't want to expose Sara to any possible danger-and angry-since no one would know which way they'd gone. Except maybe for the surveillance cameras, she thought and made sure to look straight up into the lens of one as they pa.s.sed it. She wanted Security to know it was her. And, just in case, she wanted to leave one last message.

She slowed her pace and mouthed ”I love you, Sebastian.”

Edward jabbed her in the back with the gun and she had no choice but to move on.

Ryder slipped on what he could to protect himself against the sun. Jacket. Hat. Gloves. Sungla.s.ses.

Hurrying to the bas.e.m.e.nt level, he went out through the back door of the apartment building. That side of the street was in shade at this time of day. He stayed away from the strongest rays of the sun, hurried across block after block, always keeping within the shade created by the buildings lining the street.

He moved as quickly as he could, accelerating beyond human speed to the vamp velocity he had only recently discovered and had yet to fully master. With that speed, he slipped unnoticed by the security guards and entered the stairwell. Maintaining that preternatural pace, he hurried to the door of Melissa's office, expecting to find Melissa and Sebastian waiting for him within.

The smell of blood instantly a.s.sailed him. He had to shake himself to curb his natural vampire urge. It had been harder since his injuries to maintain the line between demon and human. He closed his eyes and through sheer force of will he controlled the beast and let the human rise to the surface.

When he opened his eyes, Sebastian was lying on the floor, a trickle of blood trailing down his face from a ragged cut at his brow.

There was a large purpling bruise on his temple directly above the cut.

Sebastian had been coldc.o.c.ked with a gun. Ryder hurried to his side, concerned about the extent of his injuries and Melissa's whereabouts. ”Sebastian.” He gently shook the young man's shoulder in an effort to rouse him.

Sebastian's reaction was minimal. A groan and a slight flutter of his eyelids.

Ryder shook him more forcefully. Sebastian's eyes opened, but they were unfocused.

His helplessness sent anger surging through him. He took a deep breath and hurried to the nurses' station. ”I need help,” he said to the young Latina woman behind the counter. ”In Dr. Danvers's office.” The woman immediately swept into action.