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I kicked back on the sofa, watching a football game and drinking a beer while my mind spun in circles from my life, to my job, to Kristin. They all seemed to lead to the next one. Yesterday, I had gone in for my annual physical, and everything appeared to be perfect. The problem was that I felt like a bomb was ticking inside of my chest, as if my minutes were limited, and I didn’t know what to do with that. Perhaps it was because both my father and grandfather had passed away early in life, and my subconscious was keenly aware of that.
My job was intense, and stressful and I wondered if it would be my downfall. Last year, Homeland Security had created a new task force to deal with the vampire population. They had asked for volunteers to work on it, and I’d been the first one to raise my hand. My fascination for them, the lifestyle that they led, and the things that they could do almost consumed me those first few months. I sucked up every bit of information that I could learn, and we slowly began to track them.
Some were easier to track than others as they were blatant about what they were and what they could do. We had figured out early on that while some of them were a pain in the ass, they weren’t the ones in charge. They were what we assumed was the bottom rung of the society. We had loosely associated the breed of vampires with something that had been around for years: gangs.
There were those who did the dirty work, those who rode on the coattails of the society, those who protected and those who led. We had also learned that there were two major factions located here not only here in the U.S., but worldwide. One of them appeared to be on the up-and-up, while the other was anything but.
Tom Singer and I had hoped that reaching out to the faction that Kristin controlled would allow us to learn more about them and see if there was a way that we could help. Our bosses wanted us to obtain a list of their abilities, hoping that if another war came our way, human or vampire, that we might be able to use those with abilities to put a stop to it. I had little doubt that they also wanted to use them for their own personal reasons. Who wouldn’t want a super spy on their side?
Then there was Kristin herself. What I had seen of her—oh man, what I had seen—was incredible. I knew that she was much more than just a means to earth shattering sex, she was a strong woman who knew what she wanted. It was also obvious that she took her responsibilities seriously. What would it be like to rule over a society of immortals? What did her day consist of? What kinds of things did she have to oversee?
A knock landed on my door and I glanced at my watch to see it was almost eleven. I frowned as I set my beer down. Who the hell could be at my door at this time of night?
“Display door camera.” I called out and a window popped up on my eighty-inch television screen. What the hell?
I jumped to my feet and moved quickly to the door and pulled it open, “Kristin? What are you doing here?” I glanced into the hallway, seeing no one else around.
“Hi, Hugh. Sorry for the surprise visit, can I come in?”
I stepped back, “Of course. How did you know where I lived?”
She laughed as she stepped in, “How do you think?”
Right, of course she had checked up on me. I closed the door and watched her as she drifted slowly around the living room. Her hair was pulled up tightly to her head, and she wore a gauzy black top that was elegant, and holy crap, practically see through I noted as she turned sideways.
“Not that I’m not happy to see you, I am, but what are you doing here?”
She turned to me, crossing her arms over her chest and looking frustrated and somewhat unsure. “Do you have another beer?”
“Sure.” I told her and went into the kitchen to retrieve one. I handed it over to her and she took a tentative sip and then sat down on the couch.
“I needed to get out.” She said softly.
“Is everything alright?” I asked as I took a seat beside her.
She turned her blue eyes to me, and in them I saw a mixture of sadness and frustration. “It will be.”
I took her hand, “Talk to me Kris, tell me what has you so upset.”
“I can’t, Hugh.”
“You can, Kristin.”
She stared at me for a long time and I felt as if she were trying to make a decision. She stood abruptly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come here.”
I was on my feet as soon as the words left her mouth and put my hands on her forearms. “Kris, sweetheart, you can come to me anytime.” I didn’t know what was going on, but I didn’t like the fact that she was upset, and I didn’t want her to push me away. It was as if, I needed her to trust me, to let me further into her life.
Her chin dropped to her chest and she stepped forward into my arms. I held her tightly, knowing that this was what I needed to do. I had to be there for her.
“Talk to me.” I whispered against her ear as I brushed my lips over her head.
She pulled back, looking up at me with so much pain in her eyes, “I just needed to get away. This was the only place I could think to come.”
“I’m here for you. Does anyone know where you are?”
She shook her head, “At least not yet. I know they are looking for me, but I don’t care.”
“How did you get out? I thought you never left the building without a dozen people with you?”
