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“I mean, yeah, but that’s not all that they do. Juliet, sometimes they...”
There was a knock at the door just then, and Dr. Thompson stepped into the room.
“Excuse me, Juliet?”
“Yes, Dr. Thompson?” I looked past Clarissa, relieved to have a change of subject. Dr. Thompson was one of our best medical providers. He was able to help humans with just about any problem they might have. Although vampires occasionally sought help for medical issues, too, for the most part they were pretty self-sufficient.
“We’ve got a problem with the delivery for this evening.”
“What kind of problem?” I sighed. That was the last thing I needed. We’d had too many supply chain problems for me to be comfortable with. Over the last few weeks, we’d been missing bags, missing needles, and missing gauze. One of our orders of surgical gloves just hadn’t arrived. How was I supposed to run a hospital if the other towns weren’t sending supplies that we rightfully paid for?
“The kind that’s going to require us to stay late,” he sighed.
“Late?” I looked at the clock. It was already well after dark. Usually, I worked mid-morning to mid-evening. That meant that humans could come in during the day and donate blood and have their minor illnesses treated. At night, the vampires could come in and get the blood they needed. Working the hours that I worked meant everyone got the help they needed, and I was still able to maintain a semi-regular sleeping schedule.
“I’m afraid so,” he said.
“I can’t stay late,” I said. “I have a meeting with the Vampire Lord.” Somehow, the words came out sarcastically. I wasn’t mocking him, but it sounded like I was.
“Colin?” Dr. Thompson seemed surprised.
“The one and only,” I said. “I’m already running late. Clarissa will help you with whatever you need. Call me if you need me to come back in,” I told them both. Secretly, I hoped that they would. I didn’t know what was going to happen if I was locked up all night long with Colin. I’d gotten so turned on when he’d grabbed me and choked me. What was going to happen when he fed from me?
“Understood,” Dr. Thompson said. The three of us walked into the hallway and they both looked at me as I wiggled into my jacket.
“Good luck,” Clarissa said.
“Thanks. I’m going to need it.”
DARKVALE MANOR WAS a huge building that nobody ever went to. Well, that wasn’t quite true. Nobody living ever went there. The vampires loved to visit Colin’s mansion and see what he and his lackeys were up to. There were parties there and special events. I was never quite sure if those were code words for “orgy” or “gang bang.” I was a little scared to ask.
After I left work, I took a car to the mansion. The vampire cabbie pulled up in front of the building and glanced into the backseat where I was nervously staring out of the window. The house was even bigger than I thought it was going to be, and my stomach tight and uncomfortable.
“Are you sure about this?” The driver looked concerned about me, but I shook my head. I wasn’t about to let him know how very not sure I was about this entire thing. Meeting with a vampire was a bad decision. I knew that. Meeting with one like Colin...well, I must have some sort of death wish.
“Nope,” I told the driver. Judging by the look he gave me, he didn’t believe me at all. He was a vampire, and now I knew that they could scent things. Colin had smelled my arousal. Could this guy smell my fear? My anxiety?
“I can take you back home if you want.”
“That’s not necessary,” I said. “I have an important meeting.”
“With the Vampire Lord?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Apparently, this guy is going to be my new master for a little while.” That was more information than I should have shared. I knew it. Somehow, my mouth didn’t get the message from my brain that oversharing
was not only unnecessary, but potentially dangerous.
“Sounds sexy,” the vampire said. His fangs descended a little. Awesome. I’d turned on a random vampire stranger by using the word “master.” That so hadn’t been my intention. I didn’t even know for sure that Colin and I would be having sex. Did I want that? Yeah, I definitely wanted it. I just didn’t know if he was going to.
“Maybe,” I finally answered the driver. I was trying to be as nonchalant as possible. “What do I owe you?”
“For you?” He said. “Tell you what: no charge tonight. You just call me when you need a ride. I’ll be your designated driver.” He handed me a little card with his name and number on it.
“Are you serious?” I accepted the card and flipped it over, looking at it. Apparently, his name was Oliver. That was a good vampire name, I thought. It was an old name, though. I wondered how old this vampire was. Older than me. He looked about 25, but with a name like Oliver...well, he was probably at least a hundred. Maybe more.
“Yeah,” he said. “I don’t trust anyone else to deliver you to the Vampire Lord unharmed. Strange things are afoot in Darkvale.”
“Like what?” I said, suddenly a bit nervous. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard that. Ever since the recent break-ins and missing orders had started, people had been uneasy. Nobody really knew what was happening to our shipments. Nobody knew why random people were missing. It sounded stupid and trite, but we simply didn’t have any answers. Wishing for them hadn’t produced any results.
