Chapter 13
Austin had a good idea what was expected of him. Whether or not he wanted to do it was another question. He was tempted to act like a complete ass and get booted off the show. That would certainly alleviate the agony of being near Darcy. He could see her standing next to the cameraman. He could hear her sweet voice. But he could never have her. She was dead.
He bowed his head to Lady Pamela. "Good evening."
She motioned toward the stairwell. "Will you take a turn with me?"
"Delighted," he grumbled. He lifted his arm so she could hook her cold, dead hand around his elbow.
They climbed the stairs. One cameraman stayed in front of them, while Darcy and the second cameraman trailed behind.
"Lovely weather we're having," Lady Pamela said in her snooty voice. "I simply adore a warm summer evening."
"Yes." Frustration swelled inside him. He was sick of this pretense. "But in the summer, the nights are too short."
"True. Winter nights do give us more time."
They had reached the landing on the stairs. Austin glanced back. Darcy was giving him a puzzled look. Too bad.
"Maybe you should travel to the southern hemisphere for the summer." He continued up the stairs. "They're having their winter season now."
"Really?" Lady Pamela looked intrigued as she followed him. "You mean they're having longer nights down there?"
"Sure. Or you could go to Antarctica. The nights there are six months long. They say the penguins are very well dressed."
Lady Pamela giggled. "You silly man! No one lives in Antarctica." She dropped her hankie on the top landing. "Oh, dear."
Austin handed it to her and opened the stairwell door.
"Why, thank you." She glided out onto the roof. "Have you ever been to the southern hemisphere?"
"No, I've spent most of my time in America and Eastern Europe." He escorted her into the greenhouse.
"Ah. Were you born in Europe?"
"No. I was working there."
"Indeed. In what capacity, may I ask?"
What the heck. He smiled at the lady vampire. "I was an international spy."
She burst into giggles and slapped his arm. "My word, you say the silliest things."
He glanced back. Darcy was giving him a skeptical look.
"Oh, dear." Lady Pamela stopped in front of a mud puddle. "Whatever will we do?"
"Allow me." Austin stepped onto the wooden bench between two potted plants. Lady Pamela remained where she was, looking helpless. He gritted his teeth. He'd had to touch her old dead carcass. "Excuse me." He grabbed her around the waist, lifted her over the puddle, and then set her down on dry cement.
"Why, thank you. That was very clever of you."
He stifled a groan. It sure wasn't rocket science. Obviously, the purpose of this test was to see which man could best take care of a bunch of ditzy, dead females.
The next problem arose when they arrived at a stone bench under a dwarf palm tree. Lady Pamela announced she wanted to sit for a spell. While she hesitated, Austin noticed the bench was covered with dead leaves. He scooped off the leaves and covered the bench with his jacket. Lady Pamela smiled at him as she sat.
Austin sat beside her. Darcy and her damned cameraman moved closer. The whole situation irked him. Here he was, forced to flirt with a lady vampire while his beautiful, dead Darcy eavesdropped. "I must confess, Lady Pamela, that your gowns are the most exquisite I have ever seen."
"Oh, my!" She beamed at him. "How wonderfully kind of you."
"My pleasure. I think it's so pathetic when women try to dress like men." Darcy stood there in her khaki slacks and T-shirt. She crossed her arms and glared at him.
"Oh, I couldn't agree more." Lady Pamela stood. "Shall we continue? The roses smell heavenly."
Austin grabbed his jacket off the bench. He shook it out as he followed the lady vampire to the rose garden.
"I would dearly love a rose," she murmured.
Of course she would. "Which color would you like?"
She smiled at him. "A pink one, if you would be so kind."
"No problem." He eased around the big clay pots until he located a budding pink rose. He snapped the stem and carried the rose back to Lady Pamela.
She sighed. "I do hope it doesn't have too many thorns."
He took the hint and started pinching off the thorns. The last one proved a tough one. He managed to rip it off but ended up with a tiny hole in his index finger.
"Oh, my." Lady Pamela's eyes grew wide. "Is that... blood?"
"It's nothing. Just a flesh wound," he said dryly as he handed her the rose.
She dropped the rose on the ground and moved closer to him. "Let me see your bleeding finger." She licked her lips.
Austin stepped back. "I'm okay. It was just a little nick."
Her eyes gleamed. "Let me kiss it and make it better." She reached for his hand.
He jumped back.
She bared her teeth. "Just a little taste."
"Cut!" Darcy leaped between them. "Pamela, go to the servants' parlor and have a... snack. You'll feel much better."
She glared at Darcy a moment, then sniffed. "That's Lady Pamela to you." She turned on her heel and marched off.
Darcy heaved a sigh of relief. "Adam, why don't you come with me? I have a first-aid kit in the pool house."
He glowered at her. "I don't need first aid."
She glanced at the cameramen. "Guys, go back to the billiard room. Lady Pamela will be ready to continue after her snack."
The cameramen strode toward the stairwell.
"Come on." Darcy reached for Austin's arm.
He stepped back.
She frowned at him. "Will you come with me, please?"
He looked away. The sight of her was so painful. How could he mourn her death when she kept appearing in front of him? "It's nothing. You're not liable for puncture wounds, remember?"
She snorted. "True, but I'd rather you didn't get hurt."
Too late. He was already nursing the worst heartache he'd ever had the misery of encountering.
"This way." She motioned toward the pool house.
Reluctantly, he followed her. They passed the swimming pool. He glanced at the hot tub. Dammit.
She gave him a worried look. "You were having an odd conversation with Lady Pamela."
About the length of nights? Was Darcy concerned that he knew about vampires? Or that he knew about her? Well, wasn't that too bad. She'd let him kiss her several times. Just when in the course of their relationship had she planned on telling him that she was dead? "I was bull-shitting her."
Darcy's eyebrows rose. "Why? Are you suddenly interested in winning the contest and the money?"
"I don't give a damn about the money. In fact, I'm beginning to wonder why I'm here at all."
She opened the door to the pool house. "I thought..." She closed her eyes briefly. "Maybe I was mistaken."
She'd thought he was interested in her? He had been, dammit, until he'd found out the truth. He wandered into the pool house. The main room was a combination den and kitchen. White wicker furniture was strewn about, covered with cushions in a tropical print. Darcy's papers were on the kitchen table. The night before, on the way to the swimming pool, he had snuck into the pool house and hidden a camera over the front door. He hadn't used it yet. The last thing he wanted was to watch Darcy drinking blood or falling into her death sleep.
"Over here." She wandered into the tiny kitchen. The only appliances consisted of a small refrigerator and microwave. She turned on the water over the single sink. "Come and rinse off your finger."
He stuck his hand in the cold water.
She handed him a towel. "Something's wrong. I can tell. You won't even look at me."
He shrugged and dried his hand.
"Do you really not approve of women wearing pants?"
"No. I just told Lady Pamela what she wanted to hear."
Darcy stiffened and frowned at him. "Is that what you do? Tell women what they want to hear?"
He dropped the towel on the counter. "I need to go."
"You need a Band-Aid." She opened the first-aid box.
"I don't need anything! It's just a little prick."
Anger flared in her eyes. "Your finger or you?" She ripped open a Band-Aid package.
He seethed with frustration. Dammit, he hadn't known she was dead when he pursued her. But she had known. She should have stopped him.
"Give me your finger." She reached for his hand.
He stepped back. "Give me the Band-Aid."
She tossed it on the counter. "Fine. Bandage yourself."
"I will." He struggled to put it on with his left hand.
She glared at him. "I don't understand you. You keep asking me questions and saying things like you know too much... stuff."
"You're imagining that."
"Am I? All I ever hear from you is how I should trust you and confide in you, and when I finally feel like I can trust you, you turn away."
He gritted his teeth. "I haven't gone away. I'm still here."
"You won't even look at me or touch me. What happened?"
He finished attaching the bandage. "Nothing. I... decided this wasn't going to work."
"You decided? I don't have any say in the matter?"
No, you're dead. "Good-bye." He strode toward the door.
"Adam! Why did you do this to me?"
He paused at the door and looked back. His heart squeezed in his chest. Holy crap. Her eyes were full of tears. He was making her cry. Dead women don't cry.
She stalked toward him. "Since you're so sensitive and empathic, tell me what I'm feeling now." A tear ran down her cheek, and it struck him like an ice pick ripping at his heart.
He looked away. "I can't."
"You can't feel it? Or you can't admit that you're the one causing me so much pain?"
He flinched. "I'm sorry." He ran toward the stairwell, but realized he couldn't face those other vampires yet. He slipped into the greenhouse so he could be alone. He sat on the bench and dropped his head into his hands. How could he admit he was causing Darcy pain? Dead people didn't feel pain. They didn't cry. They didn't look at you like you were breaking their heart.
Holy shit. How could he deal with this? If he admitted she was in pain, he would have to admit she was still alive. He'd have to deal with the fact that she was a vampire. And his job at the CIA was to terminate vampires.
What an unholy mess. If only he had known ahead of time. He could have hardened his heart, avoided seeing her. Ah, Sheesh. What a load of crap. Everyone had warned him she was a vampire. She'd even tried to push him away, but he had refused to listen. This wasn't her fault. He had stubbornly ignored all the clues because his heart was already lost. Now, he had no choice but to face reality.
He was in love with a vampire.
Darcy closed the door to the pool house and leaned against it, trembling. She struggled to breathe. Her knees wobbled, and she slid down the door to sit on the green all-weather carpet.
He'd hurt her. She must have actually fallen for him and his fast talk. Telling women what they wanted to hear. The bastard.
She'd been so pathetically easy. She'd been so cold, so lonesome, so miserable for the last four years that she'd latched on to the first man who had offered her warmth and love. Tears spilled over, and she brushed them away with growing anger. How dare he turn a one-eighty on her? Wasn't it just last night he had said any man would be stupid to let her go? Well, by his own standards, Adam was stupid. Good riddance.
She stood on shaky legs. She needed to get back to the show. It was her job, and she couldn't afford to lose it. But damn, her heart was under attack by a double-edged sword. How could she see him again, and how could she stand not to see him? He'd made her so-called life bearable again. For the last four years, she'd been forced to dwell in darkness. Only three slender rays of light - Gregori, Maggie, and Vanda - had kept her sane. Then, Adam had burst into her dark existence like a brilliant sun. He'd been the sun god, promising her warmth and life.
But it had only been a false echo that taunted her. She could never experience life again. She could never be with Adam. She'd known it all along. But still, she'd fallen for him. She'd wanted to believe that love could conquer all, that love was as sacred as Vanda claimed. Tears rolled down Darcy's face. She couldn't handle seeing him again so soon, so she went down the west end stairwell to the servants' floor.
The ladies were in the parlor, chatting. Lady Pamela was sipping hot Chocolood from a tea cup. On the TV, Darcy could see Gregori and the contestants in the billiard room. The cameramen were there, recording the men as they talked about the show.
"Are you all right?" Vanda watched Darcy with narrowed eyes.
"I'm fine," she lied, hoping it wasn't noticeable that she'd been crying. There was no way to check her appearance in a mirror, one of the minor drawbacks to being a vampire. Major drawbacks included losing her family, her savings, and her career in journalism. Hell, she'd lost her entire life because of this stupid, secret world. If Connor hadn't been so concerned about keeping their damned secret, he could have teleported her to a hospital instead of Roman Draganesti's house. She might have lived. But now, she would never know. It was too late.
"Are you ready to finish the obstacle course?" she asked Lady Pamela. "There are still three men who need to be tested."
"Must I?" Lady Pamela made a face. "I'm so dreadfully tired. And besides, I already know which men must be eliminated."
"So do we," Cora Lee piped in. "We have to get rid of that buffoon that dropped Lady Pamela in the mud."
The ladies all murmured in agreement.
"And we must be rid of the Moor," Maria Consuela announced.
"You mean Ahmed?" Lady Pamela asked. "He was perfectly well-mannered. And his speech was flawless."
"Not to mention he's very handsome," Vanda added.
"Indeed." Lady Pamela set down her tea cup. "The second man to go must be Antonio of Madrid. He had the most dreadful lisp."
"Of course he does!" Maria Consuela exclaimed. "He speaks perfect Castilian Spanish."
"Well, it sounds rather silly in English," Lady Pamela insisted. "The man told me I thmelled like a thweet red rothe."
Princess Joanna shuddered. "God forbid we should have a master who speaks like that."
Maria Consuela huffed. "Then when do I have a say in who is removed from the contest?"
"You'll get your turn," Darcy assured the Spanish vampire. "I have you down for judging qualifier number nine - strength." With a small jolt of surprise, Darcy realized that the same women who had felt uncomfortable making a decision the night before were now eager to have their say.
"Oh, look." Cora Lee pointed at the TV. "Who is that?"
When Darcy glanced at the television, her breath caught. One of the cameramen had gone to the roof and was aiming his camera through the glass panes of the greenhouse. Adam was sitting on the bench, hunched over, his head resting in his hands.
"I think it's Adam." Vanda gave Darcy a curious look.
Cora Lee sighed. "The poor man. He looks so sad."
Darcy swallowed. He looked absolutely miserable. That should have made her sad, but a small kernel of satisfaction curled in her heart. Yes! He was hurting, too. He really did care.
"You should have let me taste his blood," Lady Pamela grumbled. "I would have known in an instant if he was mortal or Vamp."
"He is one of us," Princess Joanna announced. "He must be. He was too knowledgeable about our nights."
"That was odd." Vanda exchanged a worried look with Darcy.
Darcy's throat went dry. She glanced again at the television. Adam was rubbing his forehead with his hand. Had he discovered their secret? Was that why he couldn't look at her or touch her all of a sudden?
"I agree." Maria Consuela said. "Adam must be a Vamp."
Darcy sighed. "Since you know which men to eliminate, let's go ahead with the orchid ceremony. Take two orchids from the fridge and meet us in the foyer in five minutes."
They agreed. Darcy took the elevator to the second floor of the penthouse and asked all the men to come to the foyer. She sent Gregori to fetch Adam and the second cameraman. She arranged the men in two lines on the grand staircase. Then, she quickly moved across the foyer so she could be far away when Adam arrived.
The five lady judges marched into the foyer, their heads held high. They formed a line under the huge chandelier.
"Gentlemen," Gregori announced, "two of you will be going home tonight. The limo is waiting downstairs. You'll know you're leaving when you receive a black orchid. Are you ready?"
As the men nodded, Bernie panned the camera over their faces.
"One more announcement before we begin," Gregori continued. "The amount of the prize money has just gone up. Now, the winner of The Sexiest Man on Earth will receive two million dollars."
The women gasped. Bart caught their reactions on his camera, while Bernie recorded the men's.
"Lady Pamela, you may begin." Gregori motioned for her to step forward.
She moved forward, holding two black orchids. "We look forward to furthering our acquaintance with those of you who will remain. Now, for the orchids." She took a deep breath. "Nicholas of Chicago."
Nicholas, dressed in a clean set of clothes, trudged down the stairs to accept the orchid. "Sorry I dropped you." He went back up the stairs and accepted condolences from the other men.
"Antonio of Madrid," Lady Pamela announced.
With a crestfallen expression, Antonio accepted the orchid. "I am tho thorry."
Darcy glanced at Adam. Of all the remaining men, he alone looked sad. He wandered off to his room without looking back. The judges, host, and cameramen went to the portrait room for the final revelation of the evening. Darcy joined them.
"Two million dollars!" Cora Lee grinned. "Land sakes, our new master will be filthy rich!"
"Yes, but we must make sure he is a vampire," Princess Joanna warned.
"Oh, Darcy, do tell us that after tonight, we will be rid of all the pesky mortals," Lady Pamela begged.
"I can't say." Darcy retrieved the special flashlight from the wall safe. She handed it to Gregori and whispered in which order to reveal the men. Then, she dimmed the lights.
The women settled on the couches, their faces bright with excitement.
Gregori approached the portraits. "Tonight, you eliminated Antonio of Madrid." He flipped on the flashlight. Instantly, Antonio's white fangs appeared.
"Oh, dear." Lady Pamela winced. "I was so sure a vampire would never have a speech impediment."
"And you eliminated Nicholas from Chicago."
Gregori shone the light on Nicholas's portrait. For a tense moment, the women stared at his picture. Nothing happened.
"Yes!" Cora Lee bounced to her feet. "He's a mortal!"
"I did it!" Lady Pamela jumped up, grinning. "I discovered one of the mortals."
The women hugged each other, laughing.
Gregori popped open a bottle of Bubbly Blood. "This calls for a celebration." He poured seven glasses full. Darcy helped him serve the judges. Then, Gregori handed her one and kept one for himself.
"Congratulations, ladies!" He raised his glass. "You are one step closer to choosing your new master. And your master is one step closer to becoming a very wealthy man."
The women laughed and clinked their glasses together. The cameramen focused on their happy faces.
"You're not drinking." Gregory looked at Darcy. "You really should, you know. The show is turning out great."
Darcy looked down at the mixture of champagne and blood in her glass, Yeah, great. She was helping the ex-harem find a new master. And she was helping them learn to make their own decisions and stand up for themselves. But it all seemed empty without Adam.
In his bedroom, Austin observed the ladies' celebration on his laptop. With his roommate Nicholas gone, his spying had become much easier.
Garrett stood behind him, watching the scene. "So, that's the game they're playing. They're trying to figure out which of us is human, so they can get rid of us."
"It sure explains why the anklet is so important."
Austin tugged at his pants leg to look at his new anklet. Maggie had brought it to him right after sunset with a warning that he had to put it on immediately.
"Yeah." Garrett rested a hand on the back of Austin's chair as he leaned forward. "What's that they're drinking?"
"Something with synthetic blood in it." Austin watched Darcy lift the glass to her mouth. She took a sip, then licked her lips. Lips he had kissed. A mouth he had explored. Shit.
He jumped to his feet so fast, the chair tipped backwards and Garrett caught it. He strode toward the window and looked out. He couldn't see much of anything in the dark, only his reflection in the glass. Darcy wouldn't even make a reflection.
Holy crap. Did everything have to remind him that he was alive and she was dead? Or worse, she was undead. Dead during the day, but walking and talking and crying real tears during the night. She was alive just enough to torture him.
And tempt him. She was still so damned beautiful. Still so smart. Still so Darcy.
"Something wrong?" Garrett asked.
"Everything's wrong." Austin paced across the room. "This is a waste of time. We're not learning anything useful."
"I know the names of a bunch of vampires. That's more than I knew a few days ago."
"We were supposed to get friendly with them and learn about Shanna. It isn't happening." Although Austin had to admit he had certainly been friendly with one of them. Unfortunately, he'd forgotten all about Shanna when Darcy was in his arms.
"Well, it's hard to be friendly with a pack of murderous creatures," Garrett muttered.
"Oh, come on. Those women are harmless. They just want to wear pretty clothes and have someone take care of them. Sheesh, they get bent out of shape if your manners aren't impeccable."
Garrett snorted. "You're getting soft. Do you think the men are harmless, too?"
"I talked to a few of them tonight. Roberto owns an aluminum shutter company in Argentina. Otto runs a health club in Germany." Though Austin couldn't quite see a correlation between being healthy and undead.
Garrett frowned. "They probably commit crimes all the time. I bet they use mind control to steal money from people."
"Then why would they want the prize money so bad?"
"I don't know," Garrett mumbled. "But if they ran out of synthetic blood, they'd bite you in a minute."
Maybe so. Austin shook his head. But wouldn't he do the same if it was the only way to survive? "The point is they do drink synthetic blood. So, their intent is not to harm humans. Meanwhile, the really vicious vampires are trolling Central Park for victims as we speak. And here we are, picking up hankies."
"It's our assignment."
"It's stupid! We should go to Central Park and stop innocent people from getting attacked."
"We can't leave. George is still here. We can't leave him unprotected. And you know you can't go against Sean's orders."
Austin paced back to the window. He knew Garrett was right. But he wasn't finding out anything about Shanna. All he had was a list of vampires that Sean would want to terminate. How could he put Darcy's name on it? No wonder he wanted to run away from this assignment.
"They're leaving the portrait room." Garrett switched to the camera in the foyer. "The women are going toward the kitchen. Whoa!"
"What?" Austin strode back to the desk.
"The host guy just vanished."
"He must have teleported. Probably back to his apartment."
Garrett pointed at the one figure in the foyer. "Isn't that the director?"
"Yes." Austin moved closer. Darcy was standing alone in the foyer, her hands clenched together. She walked to the base of the staircase, then stopped. She looked at the front door, then back at the stairs.
"What's she doing?" Garrett asked.
"Trying to make up her mind." Austin's heart began to pound as Darcy mounted the stairs. What was she doing? At the landing, the staircase divided in two - one section going east, the other west. Was she coming to the east wing to see him?
She reached the landing and hesitated once again. Holy indecision. It would be better if she went to one of the male vampires. They were her own kind.
"She's coming our way," Garrett said.
Austin's heart raced. Please, come to me. What the hell was he doing? He couldn't have a relationship with a vampire.
Garrett headed for the door. "I'd better get back to my room." He let himself out.
Austin switched the view on the monitor to the surveillance camera in the upstairs east wing hallway. He saw Garrett slip into his room. And a few minutes later, Darcy entered the hallway, headed his way.
He turned off the surveillance equipment and closed the laptop. What did she want? He'd been ugly to her in the pool house. He should dread this meeting. He should refuse to see her. But knowing she was seeking him out made him want to jump with joy.