Had Tessa been wrong? Should she not have tried to sway Reed to their side?
Her gaze slid to Becca’s still form. What if he had lied and only told her what he thought she wanted to hear? What if he’d intended to kill Becca?
Chris Reordon entered. “What happened?” Though he was human, Chris commanded thousands of network employees and was the mortal equivalent of Seth. He wielded so much authority that even immortals obeyed his rules.
Well, most of them did.
Sean and Nicole again recounted events for Chris.
“Okay. I’m on it,” he declared.
On what? Tessa wondered. Searching for the vampire? How? He knew nothing about the man. Not his name. Not his face.
But she did. Her stomach roiled with nerves. “I knew him,” she blurted.
Silence fell as all eyes focused on her.
“What?” Chris asked, his gaze piercing.
Fear and apprehension escalated until she wrung her hands. Would they believe she’d let him get away on purpose? Would they think her complicit?
A large hand touched Tessa’s upper back, a welcome warmth against her shoulder blades. The anxiety that plagued her swiftly melted away, replaced by calm.
She glanced up at the man who towered beside her.
Jared dipped his chin in a nod, his dark eyes full of kindness and encouragement.
Straightening her shoulders, Tessa faced the others. “I knew the vampire who bit Becca.” She described her brief conversation with him.
Nick scowled. “I thought we wiped out Gershom’s entire army.”
Seth’s brow furrowed. “I did, too. When we blitzed his home base on Roanoke, the only survivors were the immortals we rescued. And no one survived our attack on the military base.”
Gershom’s home base had been on Roanoke Island?
Chris frowned. “Well, no vampires returned to Roanoke after you cleaned it out. There’s been no sign of any at the remains of the military base, either. My guys had surveillance cameras set up at both locations before the dust had even settled.”
“Without Gershom, vampires can’t return to home base,” Tessa reminded them. “He never told us where it was. Gershom always teleported us there. He didn’t want any Immortal Guardians to find its location in our thoughts.” And she had known nothing about the military base until after the immortals defeated Gershom.
Chris drew a small notepad and stubby pencil from his front shirt pocket. “You said the vampire’s name is Reed?”
“Yes. He disappeared right before Seth captured me. He said he’s been trying to text Gershom ever since.”
“Do you know his last name?”
“No,” she said apologetically. “I only hunted with him once.”
Seth frowned. “Gershom didn’t have a cell phone on him when I defeated him.”
Chris scribbled something in the notebook. “Well, if he dropped it while you were fighting, it was destroyed in the blast.” He looked at Tessa. “Can you draw me a picture of Reed?”
She grimaced. “No. I’m sorry. When it comes to drawing people, smiley faces and stick figures are the best I can do.”
Seth approached her. “If you’ll allow me to access your memories of tonight’s skirmish, I can draw him. Then Chris’s contacts can use their agencies’ facial recognition databases to learn his identity.”
Anxiety returned with a vengeance. Tessa’s heart pounded despite Jared’s calming touch. Seth had been inordinately kind to her, considering she had nearly killed Sean and Nicole, then tried to kidnap Leah, whom Seth had married shortly thereafter. She trusted him and knew Seth was a good guy. And yet Tessa couldn’t help but cringe at the idea of him wandering around inside her head. It actually made her panic a little inside. Not because she had anything nefarious to hide, but because…
Well, she supposed she feared it for the same reason someone whom wolves had attacked might not want to venture into the forest again. Having been mind-controlled once, she couldn’t help but fear history would repeat itself.
“Sean saw the vampire,” Jared said. “Search his memories instead.”
That was kind of him. His empathic ability must have let him feel her apprehension.
After a moment’s pause, Seth turned to Sean. “Did you get a good look at him?”
Sean nodded. “I think so. See if it’s enough.”
Seth stared at Sean’s forehead for several long seconds, then blinked. “That will do. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Seth crossed to the desk Melanie often used in the infirmary and picked up a pencil and a blank sheet of paper. Leaning down, he held the paper in place with his left hand and began to draw. His right hand and forearm blurred as streaks of gray rapidly filled the page.
After only a few seconds, he set the pencil down. Turning to Tessa, he held up the paper. “Is this a good likeness?”
Her eyes widened as she stared at it. He might as well have snapped a black-and-white photograph of Reed. It was that detailed. “Yes. That looks exactly like him.”
Seth handed it to Chris.
“I want a copy of that,” Nick growled, radiating fury.
Though Kayla half reclined on the bed next to her daughter, her expression was as murderous as her husband’s. “I do, too.”
Nodding, Seth returned his attention to Chris. “Send every immortal in North Carolina and their Seconds a copy. This Reed fellow didn’t appear to know who Becca is—that she’s a gifted one and the daughter of an Immortal Guardian—but I’d like to confirm that if we can.”
Nick loosed a scoffing sound. “Are you serious? You think this was a coincidence?”
Standing beside Melanie, Bastien shrugged. “It could’ve been. You know universities are prime hunting grounds for vampires. Drunk college students make easy prey.”
“Becca hasn’t been drinking,” Kayla protested, her expression stony. “We would smell it on her.”
Unruffled by the rebuke, Bastien spoke calmly. “I know that, Kayla. I was going to say that eggheads staggering home after pulling all-nighters studying are easy prey, too. Neither are vigilant. And while trolling for those particular groups, vampires sometimes get sidetracked by pretty girls. Cliff and I have come to the rescue of many young women on our hunts, both students and employees, as have you and Nick, I’m sure.
“All of us have,” Sean commented.
A rumble of agreement ensued.
“If this Reed fellow had targeted Becca,” Seth said, “he wouldn’t have needed to band together with other vampires. He could’ve simply waited until she was alone to take her. So yes, it’s possible that she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nevertheless, Chris, see what you can dig up on Reed.”
Reordon nodded. “Give me twenty-four hours.”
“Done.” Seth met Kayla’s gaze. “Becca will suffer no ill effects from the bite. But if the three of you would like to sleep at David’s tonight, you are more than welcome.”
She nodded. “Thank you. I don’t want her returning to her dorm.”
Chris looked up from whatever he was writing. “Her dorm is as secure as I could make it without stationing guards inside the halls and along the perimeter. I’ll have my guys review the university’s surveillance feeds for the past couple of weeks and see if Reed has been hanging around. I also had a crew add a few non-university-sanctioned hidden cameras of our own after you joined the Immortal Guardians family, Kayla. The cameras cover the entire exterior of the building and every interior hallway that leads from the entrances to Becca’s room. And before you ask… no, I did not install cameras in her room.”