Embrace the Darkness (Darkness Series) (34 page)

White, peeling cabinets with frosted glass fronts lined the wall to the right just above a stainless steel corpse dissection autopsy table. A rolling stainless steel instrument cart at the head of the table held a rib spreader and bone saw. The room smelled of bleach and iron.

Despite a recent cleaning, the stench of blood hung in the air.

Bile rose to the back of Amber’s throat as she slowly turned, training her weapon on the four drawer stainless steel morgue refrigerator—two more drawers than the hospital in Asheville had. The three by six drawers were stacked two on top of the other.

Another shiver crawled over Amber’s cool skin. Piney Grove had been a TB asylum where death claimed lives on a daily basis. During its heyday, there’d probably been a body in every drawer. It should have been turned off, but the dial on the mercury thermometer dipped below minus fifteen degrees Celsius. Something—or someone—was in at least one of the drawers.

Reid tucked his gun against his chest, holding it with his broken arm. With his left hand, he reached for the top drawer on the right. Amber steadied her aim. The slides screeched as he slid the drawer open.

Empty. He closed it and moved to the next one.

Another swing and a miss.

Tension rippled across Amber’s shoulders. Her arms shook, making it difficult to steady her aim as Reid reached for the bottom left drawer and slowly tugged it open to reveal a body. A half-naked man lay on the cool metal surface wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs.

Blue-tinged caramel skin stretched tightly across a sculpted, hairless chest. Ice crystals clung to the military-short hair on his shorn scalp, giving it a silvery sheen. Those same crystals clung like tiny shards of glass to his brows, lashes, and neatly trimmed goatee. A Celtic cross tattoo covered the curve of his right shoulder. His left shoulder sported an Ankh—the Egyptian symbol of life and immortality—an eerily fitting tattoo for a man who was now immortal.

Reid nodded to the corpse-like figure in the drawer. “He fits the physical description of Axel Travers.”

Amber touched the man’s cheek. It felt like a block of ice. “Even with his eyes closed, he looks just like the picture we have on file.”

But they needed a positive ID. And Megan knew the young man personally. But where was she?

“Travers is out cold.” She smiled self-consciously. “Forgive the unintentional pun, but he’s not going to hurt us and for the moment he’s safe. We need to find Megan. She’s still in danger.”

Reid looked at the final unopened drawer. Amber’s stomach flip-flopped.

“You don’t think she’s in there? Do you?”

“No. Weldon has her.”

“Yes he does,” said a voice from the doorway.

Crouching, Amber drew her weapon and turned.

Megan stood in the doorframe. An arm encircled her throat. Another curved around her waist. A man no taller than she was held her against his chest, using her as a human shield.

“I’m sorry,” Megan whispered. Terror shone in her eyes but she didn’t cry. She held herself stiffly in Steve Weldon’s grip.

“Police!” Amber said with forced bravado. “You’re under arrest for the kidnapping of Axle Travers and the murders of Tina Gallagher and Richard Baxter. Raise your hands and step away from Dr. Harper.”

Brown eyes narrowed in a pale face. He peeped around Megan’s head and smiled. “No. You drop your weapon or I’ll snap her neck like a twig.”

Reid and Amber exchanged glances. She didn’t see a weapon in Steve Weldon’s hand, but if they obeyed his command, Megan was dead.

“We can’t do that, Dr. Weldon,” Reid supplied before Amber had a chance to respond. “Now, release Dr. Harper and I won’t be forced to shoot.”

“You couldn’t fire a water pistol. Your arm is broken.” A wicked smile stretched the corners of his mouth when he swung his gaze back to Amber. “And do you really think you can kill me?” He shook Megan. “Tell them, Megs, tell them what your blood has created.”

Fear punched Amber in the chest, stealing her breath. “No.”

“Oh yes,” he said, a smile in his voice. “I’m a new breed of vampire—a day walker. As long as I avoid the sun’s direct rays, I can stay up all day and all night. I only need rest when my strength starts to wane. Usually, a short siesta at noon will do the trick. And I owe my immortality to my good friend and former co-worker, Dr. Harper.”

“Jesus! You turned yourself into a vampire?” The incredulity in Reid’s voice told Amber exactly what he thought of immortals.

“Not intentionally,” he said with a snobbish snort. “After creating the clone, I tried duplicating the antivirus using my own blood—in the lab of course. I didn't want to risk becoming a vampire by injecting myself with vampire blood. I created a vaccine from the serum and then injected the clone. To test whether he was still a vampire, I exposed a small section of his skin to a sunlamp. It nearly burned his arm off. As I was scraping away the charred flesh so the regenerative sleep could heal him faster, he moved and the scalpel slipped. It sliced my arm, mixing the vampire’s blood with mine. I didn’t know I was infected until I woke up in my make shift lab drenched in sweat and craving warm blood. I then treated myself with the vaccine created from Megan's blood. It worked—to a point. But I still craved blood. That’s when I decided to break into Lifeblood.”

He gave Megan another shake that clearly rattled her teeth. She whimpered like a frightened puppy.

“Sadly,” Weldon said with a smile, “my little friend here wasn’t there. So, I helped myself to the serum samples. The clone took out the first security guard before I could stop him. The dumbass couldn’t think for himself. I instructed him to capture the young black man.”

“Who killed Tina Gallagher?” Amber asked—for Gerard. She wanted to give him some form of closure—if she lived long enough to tell him.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Reid sliding closer to Axel Travers’ cold body. Steve Weldon didn’t seem to notice—or care if he did. His attention was focused on her.

“I did. I needed sustenance, and I couldn’t bring myself to sink my teeth into her warm flesh.” He shivered as if repulsed. “Still can’t. I slit my victim’s throat, draw the blood up with a catheter tipped syringe and then drink from a glass. Wouldn’t want the authorities getting wind of the truth. And drinking from a glass is much more civilized. Don’t you think?”

The man’s nucking futs.

“You can’t get blood from a blood bank the way other vampires do?” She needed to keep him talking and focused on her. She didn’t know what Reid planned, but if she could draw Weldon’s attention away from him, perhaps he’d have a chance to implement it. “Gerard doesn’t kill to eat. So why do you?”

Not that his killing or not killing made a difference. Weldon had committed a multitude of crimes, some for which he couldn’t be charged. There was nothing on the books about illegally cloning and torturing vampires.

“Warm, fresh blood strengthens a vampire,” Weldon said. “The antivirus weakens us just a bit. To counteract the negative side-effects of the vaccine, I drink fresh blood. I don’t need much. Just a little, since the vaccine allows me to consume some foods. That’s why so much of Tina’s blood was wasted.” He laughed. “I know you think I was trying to stage the crime scene, but really, it was just more blood than I needed and only fresh blood will do.”

Rage coursed through Amber’s blood, diluting the last ounce of fear. She held on to it, nurturing it, feeding her dhampiric nature. Her senses became more acute. Her headache faded completely. She stepped closer to the maniac.

“Let Megan go,” she demanded.

“Not a chance.” Weldon barked a short laugh. “Her blood holds the key to the antivirus. For the vaccine to work, the blood donor must carry the mutated gene that causes xeroderma pigmentosum. That’s why Megan is so important. With her blood and the Liposome sunblock, I can create an army of vampires impervious to sunlight.”

“I can’t let you do that,” Amber said. Then she moved, faster than mortally possible.

She dove behind Weldon, landing in a squat before rolling to the side and springing up behind him with gun drawn. With a startled yelp, he shoved Megan at her chest before she could fire. The two women tumbled backward in a tangle of limbs.

Reid shoved the drawer holding Axel Travers’ body closed with his hip, protecting the sleeping vampire from harm. Then he awkwardly fired off all eight shots from his Sig Sauer P-220. He hit Weldon in the arm, neck, and shoulder, slowing him down but not stopping him.

Enraged, Weldon roared, hitting Reid so hard, he flew backwards, narrowly missing the autopsy table before hitting the cabinets. The glass doors shattered. Reid’s eyes rounded. Blood ran down his forehead as he slumped to the floor.

Amber pushed Megan off her and scrambled to her feet. Weldon whirled on her, moving as fast as lightning to strike. Amber dodged his blow, catching him off guard.

He paused, barely winded. Amber was breathing so fast, she feared hyperventilating.

“Well, well. You’re much more than you seem, aren’t you detective?” He leaned forward without stepping closer and sniffed the air. “You’re not a vampire. What are you?”

“Your worst frickin’ nightmare.” She pulled the letter opener and lunged. He sidestepped her easily and stepped behind her, pinning her arms to her side.

“Drop your weapon. Now.” He squeezed until she thought her own elbows would break her ribs and puncture her lungs.

She held onto the letter opener with all her strength. “No.”

“Then I have no choice.”

His muscles tensed as he lowered his head. Amber felt his warm breath on her neck seconds before his teeth grazed her skin.

She screamed loud enough to wake the dead.

Chapter 25

Gerard couldn’t explain what had awakened him from the regenerative slumber shortly before three in the afternoon—earlier than his usual time. Had changing the dosing schedule given him the extra half hour of daylight? Would continuing to take the injections in the morning allow him to awaken even earlier? Was a cure actually possible?

He ran his tongue over his teeth. His fangs descended.

He was still a vampire—but he was a vampire no longer incapacitated by the day sleep. He was wide-awake and alert. And the sun was shining. It was truly a miracle.

So why did he feel so anxious?

The bed beside him was empty, but that wasn’t surprising. Amber was mortal—for the most part. Despite having stayed up most of the night, she’d never sleep all day.

Thinking about her normally gave him a warm feeling in the center of his chest. Not today. A sense of doom filled him. His stomach knotted.

Unaccountably apprehensive, he threw on his clothes and stepped into the hall, nearly colliding with Vincent.

“Something’s wrong,” Vincent said, his voice strained with worry.

“I feel it too.” Amber was afraid. He sensed danger surrounding her—more acutely than he had when G-2 attacked and Nicolas rescued her.

They headed toward the kitchen. The coffee in the cups on the table had grown cold.

“They have a head start,” Vincent said, curling his hand around the cold cup until it shattered. Coffee ran over his hand and dripped to the floor. He threw the ceramic shards to the ground and spun on his heel, snarling at Gerard. “Amber went after Weldon and took Megan with her. If anything happens to her, I’ll rip—”

Gerard threw up his palms, hitting Vincent in the chest hard enough to knock the wind out of him. “You’re not going to touch her, Vin. Not as long as I draw breath.”

“She’s putting my wife in danger!”

“You don’t think Megan wanted to go?” Megan wasn’t a shrinking violet. Vincent should have known that by now. “If she thought she could help put an end to Weldon’s experiments, she would have insisted on going. Amber would have had to put her in handcuffs to stop her and you know it.”

Vincent raked a hand through his dark hair and growled. “Damn it. Don’t you think I know that? My wife never does what she’s told. I can’t control her.”

“Then stop trying,
mon ami
.”

Fear ravaged his face. “You don’t understand. It’s my fault she’s in trouble. If I had only erased her mind instead of marrying her, she could have lived her life in blissful ignorance of our existence. Instead, I selfishly tried to keep her. In doing so, I may have forfeited her life.” A tear rolled down his cheek. “I can’t go on living without her.”

A lump formed in Gerard’s throat. He swallowed against it, knowing exactly how Vincent felt. “
L'espoir fait vivre
—Where there’s life, there’s hope. Let’s not give up just yet. We can save them and maybe keep them too.”

“We'll burn. Megan has the sunblock.”

Gerard wasn't giving up. "Amber's car is in the garage. How fast can you drive?"

They covered as much skin as possible, grabbed comforters off the beds and ran out of the house in a vampiric blur

****

Amber opened her eyes against the pain. Her vision shimmered into focus. Hospital lights nearly blinded her. She tried raising her arms to shield her eyes but couldn’t move. Her wrists were strapped down. So were her legs.

She took a deep breath, trying to hold the fear at bay.

Cold metal pressed against her arms and seeped through her shirt, chilling her back. Weldon had strapped her to the autopsy table. Bile rose into her throat. She swallowed it down and turned her head to the left, catching a glimpse of the walk-in refrigerator.

Thank God.
Weldon had strapped her to the prep table in the kitchen—not the autopsy table.

Her short-lived relief withered and died. Where were Megan and Reid? Were they still alive?

She turned her head to the right. The busted refrigerator door had been propped back into place, covering the entrance to the refrigerator. A metal rod had been bent and twisted around the hinges, holding the door closed. There was only one reason for Weldon to have done that and it wasn’t to keep control of his clone. G-2 was dead.