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He snapped his head toward her. His brown eyes possessed a strange new amber glow. "What...where...aargh!" He curled up, grasping his stomach.
"That's a hunger pain," Carlos whispered.
Olivia wanted to explain the situation before shoving a glass of blood at him. "J.L., you were attacked by vampires. They nearly killed you. The only way to save you was - "
He shouted and covered his mouth. He moaned in pain.
She winced. "I'm so sorry. We had to change you, J.L. It was the only way to save you."
"Change me?" he whispered. He cried out as fangs ripped through his gums. He touched the fangs with his fingers, and his eyes widened. "I'm a...?"
"You're a vampire, dude," Carlos said.
Olivia's eyes blurred with tears. Poor J.L. looked so shocked. In the past, she'd always known exactly how he was feeling, but now he was blank. It was like she'd lost a part of him forever in exchange for making sure he survived. "I'm sorry, J.L. You were dying, so close to dying. It seemed like the only way to save you."
He looked at his hand, which had touched his new fangs. The fingers were smeared with blood from his ripped gums. His nostrils flared. "I'm so hungry." His gaze shifted to Olivia and the amber glow in his eyes intensified.
"Here." She held a glass of warm blood up to his mouth. It clinked on his fangs, so she plopped a straw in it. "Drink."
He took a hesitant sip, then grabbed the glass and drank it all. "Still hungry."
She passed him the second glass, and he finished it. His fangs retracted and there was color once again in his cheeks.
"I have another glass if you need it." She motioned to the bedside table.
He glanced at it with a bemused look. "It's so weird. It actually tastes good to me." His gaze drifted about the room. "Everything's more sharp and clear. Where am I?"
"Romatech Industries," Carlos replied. "The manufacturer of synthetic blood, or in your case, the local food store."
J.L. looked confused. "Do I know you?"
"I'm Carlos Panterra, day guard for MacKay S and I. And I'm a were-panther."
"Wow." J.L. looked at Olivia. "This isn't some kind of weird dream? I'm really a vampire?"
"I'm afraid so." She squeezed his hand. "I begged Robby to do it. But if you're really miserable, I heard there's a way to reverse it and make you mortal again."
"I'll consider it, but I think I'm going to be all right with this."
She heaved a sigh of relief. "I was afraid you would hate me."
"No." J.L. shook his head, frowning. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have gone back."
"What happened?" She perched on the bed next to him. "Do you remember?"
"I was at the hospital when Yasmine called. She said she was trapped inside the storage unit, locked in with a bunch of vampires, and if I didn't save her, they would wake at sunset and kill her. So I rushed back to get her. I thought it would be safe, you know, 'cause it was still daylight, and all the vampires would be dead."
He dragged a hand through his thick black hair. "It was a trap. There were some escaped convicts locked in there with her. I guess the Malcontents kept them alive to be breakfast. They attacked me and knocked me out. I think they were hoping to save themselves by offering me up as the entrée."
"It must have been terrifying," Olivia said softly.
He nodded. "I thought I was a goner." He smiled suddenly. "But hey, it could be worse."
She smiled back. "You could be a zombie?"
"Exactly. So when do I get to kick some Malcontent ass?"
Carlos chuckled. "Easy, bro. You need some training first to learn how to use your new powers."
"Superpowers!" J.L. grinned. "Sweet."
Robby was in the security office at Romatech, discussing strategy, when he spotted Olivia on a monitor. She was approaching the office with Carlos and J.L. He had checked on the newly turned Vamp earlier and was relieved to find him and Olivia in good spirits.
Robby opened the door to let them in, then introduced J.L. to the others.
"If ye'd like a job at MacKay S and I, we'd be happy to have you join us," Angus said.
J.L. shook his hand. "That would be great. Thank you."
"Everything's fine," Olivia whispered to Robby. "He's happy with the change."
"Wow, I could hear that," J.L. said as he crossed the room. He studied the weapons in the caged armory. "You guys have some awesome swords."
"We've decided to teleport back to Kansas City," Robby announced. "We believe Casimir will still be in the vicinity, mainly because his new buddy, Otis, will be there, looking for Olivia."
Olivia frowned. "I suppose you need to use me as bait to draw him out."
"Nay," Robby said quickly. "I'd rather come up with another option." He took her hand. "But for now, we're moving to Barker's office at the FBI building."
"I'm coming with you," J.L. insisted. "I don't know how to teleport yet, but I do know how to fence."
They armed themselves. Robby made sure Olivia had a dagger in addition to her pistol.
He slipped on some gloves, so he could load her pistol with silver bullets. "These willna kill a vampire, ye ken, but it will hurt like hell and slow them down."
"Thank you." She snapped her gun into her holster.
He stuffed a silver chain into one of the pockets of his black cargo pants. He'd learned months ago that he could teleport with the chain as long as it didn't touch his bare skin or wasn't wrapped around him. "This could be the night. If I can get this chain around Casimir, he willna be able to escape."
"And you'll finally have the revenge you've wanted for so long." Olivia touched his face. "Be careful, I couldn't bear to lose you."
He kissed her brow. "Lass, ye're going to be stuck with me for a long, long time."
She called her supervisor on the speakerphone. Robby teleported her to Barker's office, and Connor brought J.L. Angus and Emma arrived with Carlos.
Barker grinned when he saw J.L. and slapped him on the back. "You're looking good."
"Thanks." J.L. peered into the main office. "Everybody's gone home."
"Yep." Barker led them all into the larger outer office. "They think all the escaped prisoners are accounted for. Of course, Otis is still out there. Any ideas for finding him?"
"Maybe Yasmine used her debit card again." J.L. headed for his work area. "I'll check."
"I'll help." Olivia followed him.
"Do you know how many vampires we're up against?" Barker asked.
Robby sighed. They'd compared notes earlier about the battle in the storage unit. Three Malcontents had managed to teleport away in addition to Casimir and Otis. "We believe they have a total of five, but Casimir could have had more of his followers teleport in."
The Vamps had five vampires, including J.L., plus two shape-shifters and Olivia.
"We could call in reinforcements," Emma suggested. "Jack, Ian, Dougal, and Jean-Luc would be happy to help."
"Let's do that," Angus told her, and she pulled out her cell phone to make the calls.
Robby glanced at Olivia. She was at her work station, turning on her computer. "I willna allow Olivia to be used as bait. Otis may have learned how to teleport. If he gets his hands on her, there's no telling where he might take her. We would never find her."
Jack and the others appeared. Robby introduced them to Barker, and Angus brought them up to date.
"Robby!" Olivia called from her desk. "I just received an e-mail from Yasmine."
He dashed over to her, followed by the others.
"It was sent via a BlackBerry," Olivia explained. "She wrote, 'Help me, Olivia. They will kill me. I'm texting so they won't hear. Come to the old warehouse at Pier 6 by the river.'"
"'Tis a trap," Connor grumbled.
"Aye. Otis will be there waiting for you," Robby told Olivia. "We canna let you go."
She frowned. "I'm not helpless, you know."
"Ye're no match for a vampire," Robby argued. "They dinna let Yasmine call 'cause they dinna want us using her voice to teleport."
"I've located an office on Pier 6," J.L. said as he typed on his keypad. "We can call the number and teleport there."
