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Declan pulled me against him so abruptly I let out a small shriek of surprise. His silver stake was already in his grip.
“What the hell is this?” he growled.
The assistant smiled uneasily, his gray eyes moving to Declan’s sharp silver stake. “Let me guess. Victor didn’t warn you about me?”
“My apologies,” Dr. Reynolds replied tightly. “This is Lawrence, my research assistant. I’m so accustomed to having him around that I sometimes neglect to let others know beforehand what he is. It’s ceased to be an issue for me.”
“Please relax,” Lawrence said, holding his hands out at his sides. “I mean you absolutely no harm.”
“Wish I could say the same,” Declan growled.
It was one thing to think there were rogue vampires here somewhere, safely locked away. It was an entirely different thing to have one in the same room with me, wearing a lab coat just like Dr. Reynolds. A little warning would have been nice. A little warning and I wouldn’t have shown up in the first place.
“If he gets a whiff of me...” I began shakily.
I didn’t think I needed to finish that sentence.
“I assure you, that won’t be a problem.” Dr. Reynolds moved to stand next to Lawrence, shielding him in a near mirror image of what Declan was doing for me.
“Victor already briefed me about your case, Miss Conrad,” Lawrence said. “And I promise I’ll be staying well back from you just to be safe. I’m not like most others of my kind, but I still don’t want to take any risks.”
Dr. Reynolds spread his hands. “Lawrence has been my research assistant for five years. He was sired against his will a year ago but retained his good sense and human morals, more than enough for me to trust him to stay on as my assistant. He believes as I do that the vast majority of vampires are a true and present threat to humankind that needs to be controlled by deadly force.”
Lawrence stepped out from behind Dr. Reynolds, keeping a wary eye on Declan, who hadn’t budged or said another word yet, but I could feel the menace coming off him in waves. He wasn’t happy about this little unexpected turn of events. That made two of us.
“Many vampires would never dream of harming anyone,” Lawrence said evenly. “I’m one of them.”
“If that’s so, then where do you get your blood?” I had to ask.
His gray eyes met mine. “There are blood banks. Donors. It’s mostly a black market business, but blood sources are available. Both the human and animal kind. I value my job here, and I would never jeopardize it for anything. After all, Victor and I have a great deal in common.”
I wasn’t letting down my guard quite yet. “Like what?”
“He knows what it’s like to lose someone he loves,” Dr. Reynolds said, nodding at the vampire. “Go ahead and tell them. I think it may help.”
“Very well.” Lawrence’s expression shadowed. “Stacy, my wife...she accepted me after I was sired, and knew I was the same man she married despite my irreversible change. But she disappeared without a trace six months ago. I’ve been searching for her ever since, desperate to find her. So worried that something horrible happened to her...all because of what I am now.”
The pain in his voice was palpable and it managed to penetrate my steely exterior.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Are there any leads on where she went?”
“Few and far between, I’m afraid,” he admitted. “She didn’t leave a note. She hasn’t tried to make any contact with me.”
“Did she run from you?” Declan asked. “Perhaps she wasn’t as okay with you being a vampire as she might have led you to believe.”
I knew he was being logical, but the pain on Lawrence’s face at this suggestion made me sympathize.
Sympathize with a vampire. Right.
I had to remember that this wasn’t Matthias. I wasn’t going to start collecting vampire friends like baseball trading cards.
“Lawrence believes that she was been taken by another vampire in revenge for the work he does here,” Dr. Reynolds said.
“But they haven’t been in touch. No ransom demands? Nothing?” Declan asked.
“No,” Lawrence whispered. “She can’t be dead, though. I can’t give up hope. Anything could still happen. I’m waiting to hear something from the private investigator I hired, hopefully, he’ll have some encouraging news soon.”
I shivered. I knew a lot about hope and how hard it was to keep a grasp on it. But it was possible and sometimes things did work out for the best instead of the worst.
