None of them asked what he’d done to the body. None of them cared. Dr. Phillip Morton was no longer a problem.
Damek whirled around and headed for the door. “I will take care of the military problem. You handle the wolves. And see if you can manage it on your own. I do have various business interests to run.” With that final insult, he was gone, lost in the shadows.
“Bastard,” Isaiah muttered.
Meredith laughed. “You know you like him.”
Her husband’s eyes lightened as they landed on her. “I’m not admitting anything.”
Hank had a lot to think about. “I’m heading up. I’ll sleep on the floor and keep watch.”
“You’ll come get me if she wakes up.” Quinn’s command raised his hackles, but Hank managed to shove his nasty retort back. This was Chrissten’s brother, her twin.
“Will do. Let me know if Craig finds anything useful.” He wanted to know the second they had a possible location for Brian and his pack of rogues.
Quinn nodded. “It will soon be time to go hunting.”
Hank knew they’d need all of them to defeat a pack of six pureblooded werewolves. But they’d do it. There was no other choice.
He took the stairs two at a time, eager to get back to Chrissten. The apartment was dark and quiet. He could smell the two women in the bedroom, hear their even breathing. He crept as quietly as he could into the room. Bethany was sitting next to the bed in a straight-backed wooden chair. It was from the kitchen set. Quinn must have dragged it into the room for her. Bethany didn’t look comfortable.
Her hand was entwined with Chrissten. It occurred to him that Bethany was the only one of them who could really understand what Chrissten had gone through. She might have only been held captive a fraction of the time but the fears were the same.
He touched Bethany lightly on the arm and she jerked away. Terror filled her eyes for a brief second before clearing away. Anger filled Hank. No woman should have to live with such fear.
There was no hint of the fury he was feeling when he whispered to her. “Why don’t you go rest? Quinn can fill you in on everything. I’ll watch over her tonight.”
Bethany rose from the chair and stretched. She put her hands on her back and moaned. “That’s not a comfortable chair.”
“I’ll move one in from another apartment in the morning.” Bethany, Meredith and Neema would all be taking turns sitting with Chrissten. They needed to be comfortable. He should have thought of that and taken care of it. He didn’t have much furniture, didn’t need it, but the women needed more comfortable accommodations.
“It’s okay. I managed. A little discomfort is nothing.”
He supposed it wasn’t, not compared to what she and Chrissten had been through. Bethany touched Chrissten’s hair lightly. The other woman didn’t move.
“She’ll get better. In time.” Hank didn’t know who Bethany was trying to convince, him or herself. She dropped her hand back by her side. “You’ll come get me if she wakes.”
“I’ll call you,” he promised. “But I won’t leave her alone.”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “You think she’s in danger here. That Brian will try to get her.”
He didn’t want to frighten her, but Bethany needed to know the truth. “If she was mine I wouldn’t stop until I found her.”
Bethany stilled and studied him for what seemed to be an eternity but was probably only a few seconds. “You’re right.” She went up on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Take good care of her.”
“I will.” That was an easy promise to make. He’d kill anyone who tried to harm Chrissten.
When they were alone, he pushed aside the chair and settled into a sitting position on the floor beside the bed. His jeans were old and comfortable. His long-sleeved shirt was soft and warm. He kept his sneakers on in case he had to move in a hurry.
He reached out and touched her arm where it had pushed out over the blankets. The mottled bruises were an abomination. But with rest and good food she’d start to heal more quickly. She and her wolf would grow stronger and help one another.
“I’m here. I won’t let anything or anyone hurt you.” He lowered his head to the mattress beside her, closed his eyes and slept, secure in the knowledge he’d wake if anyone neared the room.
Darkness surrounded Chrissten. She was safe here. No one could hurt her. She floated along. Content. She didn’t know where she was and didn’t care. Nothing could touch her here.
She felt something brush against her arm. It wasn’t much, but it made her frown. Was someone else here?
Panic threatened to overwhelm her.
She had to run. Had to get away. There were bad things out there. Someone wanted to hurt her. She fought to open her eyes but couldn’t lift the heavy lids.
“I won’t let anything or anyone hurt you.” She heard the words, but it took her a few minutes to understand them. She took a breath and her nostrils were filled with him—soap and sandalwood and a hint of musk. She took another breath, pulling it deep into her lungs. She knew this male.
She struggled to put a face with the smell but couldn’t.
No matter, she trusted him. He’d come and found her when she’d been lost. Her brother had been there too. Or at least she thought he was.
Thinking was too hard. Her memories jumbled.
She didn’t hurt and she was warm and safe. That was all that mattered. He was with her and she trusted him to keep his promise.
Darkness closed around her again and she welcomed it with open arms.
The shadows concealed Damek as he waited patiently for the group to disperse. He hadn’t left, as they’d assumed, but merely melded with the darkness. Waiting. He sighed with pleasure when the last light was turned out and only the security lamps remained on. He did so love the darkness.
The light tapping of fingers on a keyboard drew him down the hallway to the office where Craig sat working. The human’s fatigue pulled at his fragile body, but he fought it. Damek admired Craig Lawton’s sense of loyalty and family. It was a rare and valuable trait.
Craig sat back in the desk chair and grabbed a sheaf of papers he’d already printed. Damek stepped out of the shadows. For some unknown reason, he wanted to talk with the younger man. “Have you found anything?”
Craig startled and the paper he was reading jerked in his hands, dragging the sharp edge over one of his fingers. “Damn.” Blood welled on the human’s finger. Hunger surged to life within Damek as he stared at the crimson drop.
“I thought you’d gone.” Craig’s heartbeat jumped and, for the first time, Damek felt a frisson of fear from the human. It saddened him even though it was to be expected.
Damek reached into his jacket pocket and drew out a crisp, white square of linen. The human simply stared at it.
“Go on,” he offered. “It’s clean.”
Damek read the younger man’s embarrassment as he took the handkerchief and wrapped it around the tiny cut. When it was no longer visible, Damek relaxed slightly, although the sweet lure of blood still lingered in the air.
“Thanks.”
Damek inclined his head. “You’re very welcome. No need to worry about the blood. I’m not that kind of vampire. I only eat when invited.” He didn’t know why he couldn’t resist the little barb. Perhaps it was because Craig had been so easily accepting of him and he felt slighted by the assumption he’d jump on him at the first sight of blood.
Of course, the human was right to fear him. He was a vampire, after all. But it still hurt him in a way he hadn’t thought he could still be hurt. It was disconcerting to say the least.
Craig laughed. “Sorry about that. I’m just tired.” He raked his fingers through his hair, making it stand on end. “If you need to eat or feed or whatever you call it, all you have to do is ask.”