Not knowing what else to do, Tessa started collecting the fallen vampires’ weapons. All four vamps were shriveling up and would soon leave nothing behind save their clothing, watches, phones, and dental fillings.
“Oh shit,” Nicole whispered.
Straightening, Tessa glanced at her. “What is it?”
Nicole brushed the woman’s disheveled hair back from her face and stared at her in astonishment. “It’s Becca.”
“Who?”
“Becca. Kayla’s daughter. She’s a student here.”
If Tessa remembered correctly, Kayla Dorman had fallen in love with Immortal Guardian Nick Belanger a few months ago and only recently transformed.
Reaching into her coat, Nicole withdrew a cell phone.
The crunch of grass beneath boots arose in the distance. “Someone’s coming,” Tessa warned.
Dropping the phone, Nicole stood and drew the tranq gun. “Is it Sean?”
“I can’t tell. Whoever’s coming is downwind.” Tessa drew the shoto swords Sean had lent her and planted herself in front of the downed women—ready to defend them and Nicole—just in case.
A blurry figure shot around the corner of the building and slid to a halt.
Sean faced them, his hands up in surrender. “It’s okay. It’s just me.”
Nicole glanced past him. “Where’s the vampire? Did you kill him?”
“No.” His features darkened with frustration. “I lost him on the other side of campus. I think he ducked into a car and left.”
Nicole swiftly holstered her weapon and bent to retrieve her phone. “Well, we’ll worry about that later. Right now we have a bigger problem.” She motioned to the unconscious woman.
Sean’s eyes widened with alarm. “Oh shit. Becca.” Kneeling beside her, he touched his fingers to Becca’s neck while Nicole speed-dialed a number. His eyes closed with relief upon finding her pulse.
“Oui?” a Frenchman said on the other end of the call.
“Richart,” Nicole said briskly, “we need you. Now.” She quickly told him where to find them.
A dark figure appeared about five yards away. Spinning around, Richart strode toward them. “What happened?” When he followed their gazes to Becca, his face paled. “Merde. Is she okay?”
Nodding, Sean lifted Becca into his arms and rose. “A vampire attacked her and her friends. She’s been bitten, but her pulse is strong.” He passed her to Richart. “Get her to the network.”
Brow furrowed, Richart cradled her close. “Warn Chris I’m coming so he’ll turn off the alarm.”
Reordon had outfitted network headquarters with an alarm that blared every time an immortal teleported inside without warning. Tessa had never asked why but assumed he had added that when Gershom had started shape-shifting into the forms of various Immortal Guardians and wreaking havoc.
“Reordon.”
Tessa glanced at Nicole, who had already dialed the network’s leader.
“It’s Nicole. We need a cleanup crew at Duke.”
“Who’s we?”
“Me, Sean, and Tessa. Vampires attacked three women.”
“What’s their status?”
“They’re alive, but they’re all unconscious. And one of them is Becca Dorman.”
He swore.
“Richart is going to teleport her to network headquarters now,” Nicole told him.
“Okay. Tell him the alarm’s off.”
Richart vanished, his enhanced hearing having allowed him to hear both sides of the conversation.
A large dark figure abruptly appeared beside Tessa.
Jumping, she let out a little squeak of surprise and prepared to fight. Then she glanced up and relaxed.
Though Jared was an immortal as ancient as Seth, he had only recently joined the Immortal Guardians’ ranks. Nearly seven feet tall, he exuded power and was intimidating as hell when angered. But he had always been kind to Tessa.
He gave her a quick visual inspection. “Are you all right?”
She nodded.
“No injuries?”
“None.” Tessa fidgeted. “A vampire got away. The one who bit Becca. I chased him, but—”
“Did he hurt you?” he demanded, face darkening.
“No.”
“Threaten you?”
“No. He threw Becca at me and took off.”
“Which direction?”
Sean pointed. “I followed him but lost his scent at Flowers Drive. I think there may have been a car waiting for him. Or maybe it was his.”
Jared dashed away.
Tessa looked at Sean.
He shrugged. “Ancient immortals can sometimes track people in vehicles.”
She stared at him. “Their senses are that much sharper than ours?”
“Mine? Yes. Yours? I don’t know.”
Worry and self-doubt peppered Tessa as she and Sean collected the fallen vampires’ weapons. She should’ve tackled Reed once he stopped. Or raced forward and plucked the woman from his arms, set her aside, and… she didn’t know.
Every second ticked past like an hour.
Jared suddenly appeared again.
All jumped and then sighed.
“I lost him,” he announced.
Nicole motioned to the other women. “Would you take these two to the network? I’d feel better if Melanie looked them over.”
“Of course.” Unlike Tessa, Jared had no trouble gathering both women into his arms and soon teleported away. Seconds later, he returned with three network soldiers. “Now, the rest of you. These men will guard the scene until the cleanup crew arrives.”
Tessa started to ask why he hadn’t brought the cleanup crew with him, then realized whatever vehicle they usually drove probably carried a host of equipment that would enable them to rid the scene of every speck of blood and hack into the university’s security feeds.
Jared rested a hand on her shoulder, his touch almost tentative.
Sean took Nicole’s arm and clapped a hand on Jared’s shoulder.
Duke University’s campus fell away, replaced by darkness. A peculiar feeling of weightlessness engulfed Tessa, making her stomach feel uncomfortably buoyant, as it sometimes did in an elevator. In the next instant, the brightly lit infirmary on sublevel five surrounded them.
The large room bustled with activity while Tessa’s eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness. Anxiety hung heavily in the air. Dr. Melanie Lipton and her husband, Bastien, leaned over an exam bed upon which Becca now rested. The other two victims occupied beds nearby.
Three techs rushed toward them with bags of blood and IV paraphernalia. The handful of vampires who lived on sublevel five had all gathered to see what the fuss was about and huddled on the other side of the room.
Seth promptly appeared amidst the controlled chaos, his hands on the shoulders of Kayla and her husband, Nick. The younger immortals’ eyes glowed bright amber with concern.
Kayla glanced around, a panicked look on her face, then spotted her daughter. Crying out, she dashed over to the bed in a blur. “Becca? Honey?”
Melanie started setting up the IV. “She’s okay. She just needs a transfusion.”
Nick looked murderous. “What happened?”
Sean and Nicole filled him in.
Tessa waited in anxious silence for them to condemn her for letting the vampire get away, but Nicole opted not to mention the conversation with Reed.