BodySnatchers (10 page)

Over the radio, she heard, “Five, four—”

Reggie ducked behind the protection of the building and
leaned against the solid muscles of Yuri Kovak. As much as she tried to tell
herself not to get used to having him around to depend on, she couldn’t help
the sense of security lent to a tough situation.

He shifted his thigh against hers, and that surge of heat
he’d inspired earlier warmed her belly and dampened her panties.

Damn. How was she going to explain him to her sister?

If Reggie had been a vampire hater, Madison was twice as
bad. She’d been the one to find their father and hold him as he gasped his
dying breath. Her hatred ran deep and unbending.

“Two, one.” A loud explosion echoed off the sides of the buildings,
shattering the relative silence of the waterfront.

“Move in!” The call went out over the radio.

Reggie and Yuri raced across the street and into the gaping
hole filled with smoke that used to be the large sliding doors.

Shouts rang out and bullets zinged over their heads.

As planned, Reggie dove to the left behind the stacks of
crates. She rolled to her feet and ran toward the back of the building where
her sister and the thirteen other women were kept. Yuri and Torsten followed
her through the maze as the other agents worked through the resistance,
creating a needed diversion.

At the first sign of trouble, Andrei would head for the
women. Not only did they make for good resale, they would also be useful in
negotiating himself out of the current circumstances.

Reggie, Yuri and Torsten had to get there first.

As they neared the crate-sided room, Yuri reached out and
snagged her arm, indicating he should go first.

Since their enemy was another vampire, Reggie didn’t argue.
Somewhere between last night on the street with Cesar and now, she’d allowed
herself to trust Yuri. Trust enough to save her sister. If Andrei was as bad as
they said he was, she wouldn’t stand much of a chance. As she followed Yuri,
she bent to retrieve the wooden stake wedged like a knife in her boot sheath.

“I hope you don’t plan to use that on my friend,” Torsten
whispered as they moved around to the open end of the room.

“Not unless he’s been lying to me all along,” she said, and
hoped the hell she hadn’t misplaced her trust. Madison was the only family she
had left in this world. She couldn’t bear to lose her. Nor could she stand the
thought of going on alone.

When they rounded the corner of the giant stack of crates,
Yuri stopped, and Reggie all but crashed into him.

When she steadied herself against his back, she felt his
muscles go rigid.

Reggie’s heart skipped several beats and crashed to a halt
when she moved around Yuri to see their nemesis. A man, as dark and
dangerous-looking as Yuri, stood in the doorway of the makeshift room. Draped
across his arms was the unconscious body of her sister Madison.

“Andrei,” Yuri said, his tone more of an accusation than a
greeting.

“Ah, Yuri, what brings you to this part of the world? I
thought you were enjoying the nightlife in Paris.” Like Yuri, Andrei’s voice
was heavily laced with a foreign accent.

“You know I go were the scum lands.”

“
Tsk,
tsk.
Always doing the council’s dirty
work, are you? Saving the unworthy innocents. Who was there to save us from a
fate worse than death, huh, Yuri? Brother?” His voice rose, echoing off the
wooden walls and disappearing toward the high ceiling.

Brother? Reggie staggered backward, cold, hard dread
settling in the pit of her belly. She stared at the man she’d allowed herself
to trust. Had he lied to her? Was this nothing more than an elaborate trap?

“We didn’t have a choice when we were turned,” Yuri was
saying. “That doesn’t make it right to do the same to others.”

“You think that’s why I brought these lovely ladies here?”
Andrei’s eyebrow rose.

“Not really.” Yuri crossed his arms over his chest. “I see
you as one with a complete lack of control.”

“Control.” Andrei snorted. “You preach control, and what
does it buy you? Nothing. Whereas, I can have everything and everyone money can
buy. Do you know how much these women will bring on the sheep market?” he
asked.

Reggie’s fear melted as a blast of white-hot anger burst
forth. “You bastard! These women are people, not cattle.” She lunged toward
him, brandishing her stake.

Yuri’s arm shot out, clenching around her elbow, hauling her
back behind him. “Stay out of this.”

“Is this man your brother?” she demanded.

“He used to be,” Yuri said, his tone filled with sadness.

“My brother disenfranchised himself from me over our many
years of shared immortality. He fancies himself as a crusader for the
less-fortunate.” Andrei lifted Madison higher. “I’ve taken the life of this
less-fortunate. What are you going to do? Kill me? You don’t have the balls to
do it.”

Reggie gasped, her chest squeezing so tightly she couldn’t
breathe.

Yuri’s narrowed into slits. “I’ll kill you just like any
other rogue I’m sent out to retire.”

“Where’s the family loyalty, brother?” Andrei sneered.

“My brother died centuries ago.” Yuri’s jaw tightened, and
he stepped forward. “Put the woman down.”

“No.” The smile on Andrei’s face was an evil taunt.

“Let go of my sister.” Reggie strained against the hand
holding her back, no longer willing to wait for the two vampires to duke it
out.

“And such a tasty treat she was. Unfortunately, I didn’t
save anything for the sale. Ah well, what’s one loss? I still have thirteen
left.”

“Let her go, Andrei.” Yuri’s voice was low and deadly.

“Always out to save the innocent,” Andrei said, his face
drawing into a scowl. “Such a shame you’re too late to save this one.” He
straightened his arms, and Madison dropped.

Her body hit the concrete with a soft
whomp
, and she
rolled to her back.

Reggie jerked out of Yuri’s grasp and dove for her sister.

The scene erupted in a flurry of movement as Torsten and
Yuri leaped for Andrei.

The evil brother dashed into the room full of inert bodies.

As the men crashed and thumped against the wooden crates,
Reggie knelt next to her sister and felt for a pulse. Her hand moved from her
sister’s cool cheek to her neck.

A sob rose in her own throat as she searched for any
indication there was still some life left in her. Then the faintest nudge
tapped against her desperate fingertips and then another. She was still alive
but barely.

“Reggie?” Madison whispered.

As Reggie leaned forward to hear her sister’s words, the
loud crashes from inside the crate room faded into the background.

“I’m dying,” she said, her lips a ghastly shade of blue, her
cheeks pale and gray.

“No, Madison. You can’t. You’re all I have.”

Her sister’s chest jerked as she tried to laugh, her lips
twisting into a humorless smile. “I’m dying just like our dad.”

Anger surged in Reggie’s veins. “I won’t let this happen. He
won’t get away with it.” Grabbing the stake she’d dropped on the floor, she
left her sister’s side and walked into the room.

Torsten flew through the air, hit the box next to her and
slid to the floor. Yuri and Andrei were locked in a fierce battle to control
the splintered board in Andrei’s hand.

Without stopping to think or even reason through her
actions, Reggie strode forward and swung the stake as hard as she possibly
could.

Seeing the stake coming at him, Andrei pulled Yuri around
and in front of him.

At the last second, when Reggie though for sure she’d killed
the wrong vampire, Yuri leaped to the side and the sharpened weapon plunged
into Andrei’s heart.

“That’s for my sister!” she shouted. Then she ran back to
Madison and collapsed across her, sobbing. She couldn’t die. Not Madison. Not
her beloved sister.

* * * * *

All the pressure on Yuri’s arms slackened as Andrei
staggered backward and sagged against the corner of a wooden box containing one
of the women he’d kidnapped.

Hundreds of years peeled away, leaving Yuri facing the dying
face of his younger brother. Andrei had always been out for a good time,
womanizing and drinking into the dark hours of the morning. “I’m sorry we
couldn’t see eye to eye,” Yuri said softly.

“As am I.” Andrei gripped his chest and exploded into a
cloud of dust that smelled of death and old bones.

Yuri doubled over, the ache in his heart equaling the pain
in his gut.

Torsten’s strong arm circled his shoulder. “I’m sorry about
your brother, Yuri, but you’re needed.”

Reggie.

Forcing his grief to the back of his mind, he looked around
to find Reggie sprawled across the near-lifeless body of her sister.

Reggie looked up at him, eyes red-rimmed, tears trailing
down her cheeks. “Help her.”

“Andrei drained her,” Torsten said. “She’s dying.”

“Don’t let her die. You can’t!” Reggie moaned, wrapping her
arms around her sister as if by sheer force she could keep her alive.

“I won’t turn her unless she wants it,” Yuri said, his heart
breaking along with Reggie’s.

“You’re a vampire. You can heal her like you healed me.”

He shook his head. “Andrei took her too far.”

“Then take her the rest of the way. I’d rather she lived as
a vampire than not at all.” Reggie stared down at her sister, her tears soaking
the dying girl’s cheeks. “Please.”

“No, Reggie. I won’t be a vampire.” Madison’s eyes opened
slowly, as if it took more effort than she had left in her. “Let me die.”

“No!” She leaped to her feet and ran to Torsten. “If he
won’t do it, you can. How do you do it? Tell me!”

“I’m sorry, Reggie. I’m with Yuri. I won’t go against his
wishes.”

Reggie turned to Yuri, the fear and sadness of losing the only
sibling and family left to her emanating from her green eyes. She came to him
and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face against his chest.
“Please, I beg you.”

He wanted to do as she asked more than he could stand, but
Madison didn’t want to be turned. “You’ll have to take it up with your sister.
I won’t turn her against her will.”

Reggie stared at him, tears welling in her eyes. “Then turn
me,” she said, quietly. “Turn me so I can save my sister.”

“No, Reggie, don’t do it.” Madison lifted an arm toward her
sister and it fell back to the floor.

“I won’t stand by and let you die.”

“I’d rather die than be one of them.” Madison’s voice was
fading, and her eyes closed as if keeping them open was too much effort.

Reggie dropped to the floor beside her sister and gathered a
limp, cold hand in both of hers. “They aren’t all the same, Maddie. There are
good ones and bad ones. Yuri and Torsten saved you and all the other women.
Don’t you see? You could be one of the good ones.” A sob escaped, racking her
body.

Yuri knelt beside her and cradled her in his arms, his heart
breaking for her. “Do you really believe what you said?” he asked. “Do you
believe I’m not the enemy? Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” she cried against his shirt. “Please don’t let my
sister die. I love her so much.”

The relief of hearing her say she trusted him and that she
didn’t think of him as the enemy was like a heavy curtain being lifted to let
the sunshine in. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly. “All right, I’ll
turn her.”

The racking sobs stopped and she stared up at him through
watery eyes. “You will?”

“Yuri, remember how you felt when you were turned and didn’t
want it,” Torsten warned.

But Yuri could only see the tentative smile on Reggie’s
face. If he didn’t help her sister, that smile would disappear. He’d risk
Madison’s anger for Reggie’s love any day. “Give me that stake.”

Reggie leaped to her feet and retrieved the stake from where
it had fallen after she’d dusted Andrei.

“Sounds like they have the rest of Andrei’s gang under
control.” Torsten laid a hand on Yuri’s shoulder. “Are you sure you want to do
this?”

“I’ve never been more sure.” Reggie was the first woman to
capture his admiration in centuries. He didn’t want her to lose her sister when
he had the power to save her. “I want a chance at love.”

“And you hope to buy that love with her sister’s life?”

“If need be.” Yuri frowned, not liking the way Torsten made
it sound. “Madison will learn to deal with being a vampire, just as you and I
have.”

Reggie pressed the stake into his palm and said, “I’ll help
her come to terms.”

He took the stake with one hand and captured her hand with
the other. “We’ll help her, together.”

Reggie smiled and turned to Madison. “What do I need to do?”

“Just believe.” Yuri braced himself and then jerked the
stake across his wrist. Blood oozed from the fresh wound, dripping out onto the
floor.

Dropping to his knees beside Madison, he lifted her with his
uninjured arm and pressed his wrist to her mouth. “Drink, Madison.”

“No.” Too weak to fight, she turned her head to the side.

Reggie knelt beside Yuri and held her sister’s head
straight. “Do it, Madison,” she said, her voice choked with tears. “I love you,
and I won’t let you die.”

Trapped by the two sets of hands holding her, Madison had no
choice but to drink the blood of a vampire, and Yuri hoped the hell he was
doing the right thing.

“How much does it take?” Reggie asked, her voice only a
whisper.

“Just a drop is all that’s needed.” That’s all it took to
turn him more than four hundred years earlier.

When Madison’s throat moved and she swallowed, Yuri laid her
head on the concrete and he moved back.

“What happens now?” Reggie asked.

“Your sister joins the ranks of the living dead. By morning,
she will no longer walk in daylight and live to tell. Her thirst for blood will
have to be fed to sustain her life, such as it is. And if she isn’t staked,
beheaded or otherwise dusted, she can live forever.”