Embrace the Darkness (Darkness Series) (24 page)

“You do have certain abilities,” Gerard said. “And you’re going to need to hone those skills if you want to survive. You’re also going to need Sonia’s help whether you want it or not.”

“Why? Does she know where Weldon is?”

“No, but—”

“If she can’t locate your clone with vampire magic, then there’s only one way to find Weldon. And that’s through good, old-fashion police work.”

“Sonia has resources you can only dream of,” Vincent insisted. “We need her.”

“Then why hasn’t she found Weldon already?”

Sonia probably could find the researcher if she put her mind to it. Unless she was afraid of losing Vincent if she embraced her dark powers. She could be clinging to the hope that Vincent would return to her when Megan grew old. The vampiress might relish her immortal nature, but she hadn’t lost all ties to humanity. Like every other woman Amber knew, Sonia wanted to be loved and understood. It was obvious in the way she carried herself. In the way she spoke—or maybe, not so obvious.

Maybe I subconsciously learned something about Sonia when she was inside my head.

Dhampir skill? Or just an analytical and observant mind?

Vincent’s gaze slid away, and if Amber wasn’t mistaken, a faint blush stained his cheeks.

“Point taken,” he said.

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “What’s that, Vamp? You apologizing?”

“Hardly.”

Megan elbowed him in the side. “Stop being an ass.” Then she turned to face Amber. “So, what do you propose? Talking to Nicolas?”

Her stomach knotted. She wasn’t ready to hear the truth from Nicolas. Not now. Maybe never. She cleared her throat. “Researching my past isn’t a priority. My job is. And right now, I need to find Axle Travers and the person or persons responsible for the murders.”

Even if one or more of those persons wasn’t human.

Vincent pulled Megan into his arms as if his touch alone could protect her. “Weldon’s responsible. He’s still researching vampires, and he has Axle. So, we need to find him before he takes another hostage.”

The clone wasn’t human. It never had been.
Does it even have a soul? A conscience?
“The clone has to be stopped, by whatever means possible. But I’m taking Weldon into custody.” She wasn’t about to violate his civil rights.

Vincent snorted. “
If
you can find him.”

“I will.”

“How? You refuse Sonia’s help. You refuse to admit you’re a dhampir. How are you going to find him? I doubt he has a Facebook page.”

Amber smiled, trying to hold back a laugh. Despite Vincent’s lack of faith in her abilities, she was on familiar ground. “Research. Brains over brawn—or vampire hocus-pocus. I just need to take another look at the case files. The evidence is there. I just have to figure out a way to apply it to vampires—and Dr. Weldon.”

“The man’s guilty. Why wasn’t he a suspect?” Vincent challenged.

The prickly vampire rubbed her the wrong way. She clenched her jaw to keep from snapping back. “There’s no motive. He worked with Tina at Baldwin Industries. That’s his only connection to
this
case. If he was involved in anything more illegal than stealing the money Timmons had stashed in the Cayman Islands’ account, the evidence was destroyed in the gas explosion that damaged Baldwin Industries before the government shut it down.”

“That wasn’t an explosion,” Gerard said. “The damage was done when Vincent and Sonia rescued me from the sub-basement. Colonel Weldon’s men set a gas explosion afterwards to cover up the truth.”

“He wasn’t protecting vampires,” Vincent added. “He was protecting his operation.”

Timmons had known about vampires longer than either Vincent or Gerard knew. He’d been quietly planning for years, which probably explained why some of Gerard’s DNA had survived. Timmons most likely had an alternate research site planned from the beginning. After his arrest, he’d alerted Weldon, and the researcher put those plans into motion with the money stolen from the offshore account. Weldon was wanted by the FBI in connection with the missing money, but local authorities in Virginia were no longer interested, and North Carolina didn’t consider him a suspect in any crimes.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Gerard’s quiet accusation set her pulse to pounding.

If she’d trusted him completely, she would have told him the truth about her mother’s connection to Timmons sooner. She swallowed her guilt, unable to meet his gaze. “When my dad was injured in the Beirut bombing, Nicolas rescued him and—” A fleeting thought took root. Her pounding heart nearly stopped beating.

Her mother’s fear and hysteria had little to do with vampires. She’d known Nicolas. She’d known he was Amber’s father. And she’d believed him dead—the man she loved. The truth had been there all along. Nicolas all but confessed. He didn’t save Greg because they were friends. He saved him because he loved her mother.

“Amber? Are you all right?” Megan asked.

Gerard laid a hand on her shoulder. The gentle contact was nearly her undoing.

“What’s wrong,
mon chérie
?” he asked, his voice a salve to her wounded soul. “Why do you cry?”

Was she crying? She raised a shaking hand to brush away a stray tear. Her throat ached. She swallowed against the pain. “My mother knew about vampires.”

Slowly turning toward him, she placed her hands on his chest, a silent plea for forgiveness. “Nicolas went to see her after saving my dad—after saving Greg. He loved her. He was the father of her child—my father. She thought he was dead. Then—”

Emotion closed her throat, trapping the rest of her words. More tears spilled over her lashes. Fearing Gerard’s rejection, she dared to lift her chin to meet his gaze. Pity—love—heartbreak all mingled in the blue depths of his eyes.

Cupping her cheeks, he raised her face to meet his as he lowered his head and planted the softest of kisses against her forehead. “No more tears,
mon amour
.”

She hiccupped. “You don’t understand.” She pulled away, hugging herself against the pain. “She was angry—confused—afraid. Nicolas was in the army when he died—when he was converted. My mother called his former sergeant. Timmons wasn’t a colonel then.”

Gerard and Vincent exchanged glances, silently communicating.

“It explains his obsession,” Vincent said at last. “And how he knew we existed.”

“He believed her story but kept the knowledge to himself,” Gerard added. “It was his chance to advance his career. If he’d succeeded in creating invincible soldiers under his command, he would have been more powerful than the president.”

Amber dropped her hands to her sides. Her heart ached. Before she could step away, Gerard draped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her to his side.

Swallowing the emotional knot tightening her throat, she said, “My mother wasn’t trying to hurt Nicolas. She must have loved him, and for all intents and purposes, she’d lost him.”

“I don’t hold her responsible for Timmons’ actions.” His understanding smile eased her conscience. “And I don’t blame you.”

“Timmons had more than just a couple of years to plan this,” Vincent said. “He had at least a quarter of a century.”

Pulling away from Gerard, Amber straightened her shoulders and swiped at her tears. Detectives didn’t cry. She had her emotions firmly under control when she said, “Timmons had an account in the Cayman Islands. He siphoned funds from his black ops military project to that account and was arrested for misappropriation of government funds.”

“The military knew about the cloning,” Megan said. “When Timmons was arrested, he admitted the truth to the senator who headed the Senate Oversight Committee.”

There was no law against cloning in North Carolina—which was scary as hell considering the technological and biological researched performed at Research Triangle Park. But Timmons had been arrested in Virginia.

“Only fifteen states have laws against cloning. I think Virginia is one of them, but Timmons wasn’t charged with violating cloning laws, and the media discounted the earlier allegations as rumor.”

“The military didn’t want the public to know about the cloning,” Gerard said. “That’s why he was charged with misappropriation of funds. But Weldon got away and he needs Megan to continue the experiments. And Axle is his next project.”

A quiet gasp drew Amber’s attention. Megan’s hands covered her mouth. Her face paled. “He’s going to turn Axle and then test the vaccine. If the dosage is wrong, it could kill him.”

He might prefer being dead to being a vampire, Amber thought, her guilty gaze seeking Gerard’s. He knew what she was thinking. And he didn’t judge her for it. Gerard hated his immortal nature. It’s why he took the vaccine.

Tension knotted her shoulders. “It may be too late to save Axle, but I’m going to find Weldon.” She raked a hand through her hair. “There’s got to be more information on him in the case files—something the Asheville PD overlooked.” Then again, her colleagues hadn’t known to look for vampires.

“You can’t ask for Sheridan’s help,” Gerard said softly. “Or anyone else with the police department.”

“I know.” And that bothered her. Reid was her partner. She should have his back—share what she knew. But her partner would never believe the truth, and the un-subs were definitely
not
the usual suspects.

“Do you really think you can solve a supernatural case using normal police methods?” Megan asked.

“I’m damn sure going to try. As soon as Gerard takes me home.”

Megan sighed. “I can’t travel at vampire speed. But I’ll catch the first available flight or drive down, whichever gets me there quickest.”

“You’re not going,” Vincent snapped. “You’re staying here. Where it’s safe.”

She raised her chin. “I don’t think so, Vin.”

“Damn it, Megan. I can’t keep you safe if you keep putting yourself in danger.”

“You can’t keep me safe if you leave me here alone and unprotected.” She smiled coyly. “Besides, if you find Axle and he’s a vampire, you’ll need me. I may not be a medical doctor, but I’m the only doctor you know with vampire experience.”

Grumbling under his breath in some language Amber didn’t understand, he turned to Gerard. “I guess I’ll fly down
with
my wife. Don’t get yourself into any trouble,
moj prijatelj.
”

Amber waited for nerves to twist her stomach into knots. Yet she remained relatively calm.

Had she used her medication as a crutch since coming back from Iraq? Were the headaches and anxiety a result of not accepting what her mind had been telling her for years? That she was a freak. A hybrid vampire freak.

Time to embrace my freaky side.

Chapter 16

Gerard “flew” Amber back to North Carolina as unceremoniously as he’d transported her to New York. The moment she regained her equilibrium, she gathered the case files from her desk and spread them over the kitchen table. She shoved half the stack toward Gerard.

He raised his brows but opened the first file without comment and started reading. They sat in silence for a good half-hour, skimming paperwork.

“There’s not much here,” Gerard said with a grunt, sounding discouraged.

Distracted, Amber barely acknowledged his comment as she poured through the evidence folder, looking for anything she might use to tie Weldon to the case. There had to be something…

In a homicide investigation, detectives looked at those closest to the victim first. If they didn’t uncover evidence or leads, they expanded the investigation to include friends, coworkers—anyone who might have a motive for murder. If a motive was suspected, detectives looked for evidence to build their case. Means and opportunity were established later.

Richard Baxter had lived with his parents and younger siblings. His death devastated the family, and there didn’t seem to be a motive for killing the twenty-two year old community college student.

Tina Gallagher’s ex-husband had a motive. He also had an alibi. Before going home to his wife and daughter, he’d been schmoosing congressional interns at the Capital Lounge on Capitol Hill. Tina’s mother was dead, and her father was in a nursing home with advanced Alzheimer’s. She had no siblings so investigators looked at Lifeblood employees next. Tanner was the first to suggest a sexual relationship between Megan and Gerard.

Vincent had been the prime suspect before Tanner and Daniels interviewed him and Megan at their home outside of Cherokee. The hour and fifteen-minute drive to Lifeblood solidified Vincent’s alibi. Just before the time of the murders, he’d been at home on a three-way conference call with Brit Travers and a Hong Kong investment firm.

The original detectives were unaware of Vincent’s ability to travel the sixty-five miles in a matter of minutes, so they’d dropped him from the suspect list. They were also unaware of Sonia’s ability to manipulate minds and behaviors. Yet despite the vampires’ abilities, Amber didn’t consider Vincent or Megan a suspect.

She tossed the file aside and picked up the next one. A small red tab taped to the side marked Gerard as a person of interest.

The origin, route, and destination of Lifeblood’s private jet had been filed with the FAA. Reid had even confirmed the flight data on FlightAware.com—proof Gerard had flown to Alexandria the night of the murders. Sonia had tampered with the website just as she’d manipulated the pilot’s memory and the credit card receipts. But no one had gone to Alexandria to show the night clerk at Morgan Suites Gerard’s photo. Nor had anyone spoken with Dr. Geniss.

Gerard might be innocent, but the evidence was fabricated. If the night clerk denied seeing him or the doctor failed to confirm the late night meeting in the lobby, Gerard had nine hours unaccounted for—enough time to rent a car, drive to Asheville, and commit the murders.

The police wouldn’t consider Gerard’s claim of having xeroderma pigmentosum as evidence he couldn’t drive after sunrise. They’d assume he used skin protection and rented a car with tinted windows. And Reid would be the first to accuse him. He didn’t trust Gerard, and he wouldn’t hesitate to get a search warrant for Gerard’s home despite the receipts Sonia had generated.