“And I’m trying to protect you,” she told him calmly. “You killed Reed’s fellow vampires and chased him after his chat with Tessa. What if Nick’s name isn’t the only one he knows? What if he heard yours and told someone else? I don’t want you hunting alone without a Second keeping tabs on you.”
“I won’t be hunting. I’ll be shadowing you.”
“While hunting.”
Cliff leaned forward. “I can be his Second.”
All eyes swung to the former vampire.
“What?” Bastien blurted, his face awash with surprise.
Cliff shrugged. “It would only be temporary, right?”
“Yes,” Chris answered.
“Then I’ll do it.”
Melanie glanced at Bastien, then addressed Cliff. “Don’t you think you should talk to Emma about this first? Considering everything you two have been through, I don’t know if she’d want you taking that kind of risk.”
“I take a risk every time I go to network headquarters,” he pointed out. “Seth managed to convince the other vampires that I was unexpectedly cured by the darts I was hit with at the military base. But you haven’t been able to reproduce the serum,” he said, making finger quotes. “In their lucid moments, Stuart and the others don’t blame me for being cured while they still suffer. They envy me. But during their psychotic breaks, that can shift pretty quickly to resentment if I try to step in and calm them. Emma knows spending time with the vampires is a risk. But she also knows those guys are my friends and how much it means to me to help them.
“Sean and Nicole are my friends, too. And the risk here is minimal. I’d just be performing the usual duties of a Second and keeping track of Sean. Emma won’t mind.”
Bastien arched a brow. “Even if it means temporarily moving in with Sean?”
Cliff smiled. “That part will suck. But she can come over every night and hang out with me while he hunts.” He glanced at Sean. “Can’t she?”
After a long pause, Sean sighed in defeat. “Yes. And she can stay at our place for the duration if we end up doing this.”
Nicole smiled when he referred to the house as their place rather than his.
“All right,” Seth announced. “We have a plan. Nick, Kayla, Nicole, Sean, Cliff, and Becca, remain here so we can work out the details. The rest of you may begin your hunt. But be vigilant. Telepaths, search the thoughts of every vampire you encounter for any mention of Becca or Nick, tranq any whom you suspect may be involved, then summon me or David.”
“What about those of us who aren’t telepaths?” Ethan asked.
“If you’ve time, call Zach, Aidan, or Jared and have them read the vampires’ minds before you dispatch them.”
Murmurs of agreement filled the air before most of those present rose and took their leave.
A tinny version of Skillet’s “Monster” broke the tension-filled silence that fell in their wake. When Seth drew his phone out of a pocket, Leah plucked it from his hand.
“Seth’s phone,” she answered brightly. “Leah speaking. How may I help you?”
Seth grinned.
Nicole fought a laugh.
Leah sounded like an employee at a hotel’s front desk, waiting to take a room reservation. She listened for a moment. “Sure. I’ll be right there.” She pressed a quick kiss to Seth’s lips. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
She disappeared.
Still smiling, Seth turned to the rest of them. “Now. Let’s work out the details.”
Sean paced the length of Nicole’s bedroom while she packed a duffle bag.
“Sean,” she said without looking up, “you are working my last nerve. Either sit down or leave.”
He sat on the foot of the bed beside the open bag. “How soon did Melanie say she could have the autoinjectors ready?”
“Later tonight.” She dumped an armful of bras and bikini panties into the bag.
More of those were lacy than he’d expected. For some reason, he’d assumed she preferred utilitarian sports bras. “Do you know how to use them?”
“Flip the cap open, then jab the vamp. Easy-peasy lemon-squeezy.”
“Not if he bites you.”
“I’ll still have time to jab him before I get loopy. And if he does bite me, he’ll probably go for my neck. I could always wear a turtleneck and tuck one of the stab-proof guards inside it.”
“Something that would instantly tell him you aren’t who he thinks you are. And what if he isn’t alone when he grabs you?”
“If he grabs me. We don’t even know if someone is still out to get Becca.” She sighed. “You’re overthinking this, Sean.”
“When it comes to your safety, there is no such thing as overthinking it.”
Pausing, she smiled. “Awww. That’s so sweet.”
He frowned.
She pointed at his forehead. “Keep doing that, and people will believe you’re as antisocial as Roland.”
He attempted to smooth his brow. “I still think one of the shape-shifters should do this.”
Nicole added socks to the bag, then headed into the bathroom. “There’s no way any of those guys could pass for an eighteen-year-old girl from this century. You know how out of touch they are. The only thing most of them can do on a smartphone is make a call. Stanislav can’t even download audiobooks. If Susan isn’t around, Alexei has to do it for him.”
Immortal Guardians did tend to be behind the times when it came to electronic devices, slang, and the like.
Upon returning, she added a hairbrush, comb, and various other toiletries to the bag. “Besides, I’m fully capable of doing this. Reordon and Seth wouldn’t have okayed it otherwise. Neither would David.” Grabbing the bag, she left the room.
Sean followed her to the armory and sat on a bench while she added a multitude of weapons to the duffle. “It isn’t that I don’t think you’re capable. I’m just worried.”
Sighing, Nicole sat beside him and took his hand.
His heartbeat picked up a little as he twined his long fingers through hers.
“I know,” she said softly. “But I’m the best one for the job. Becca is gutsy. I’ll give her that. But she’s only eighteen and has lived a pretty sheltered life. She’s new to this vampire-hunting world. Very new. You and I, on the other hand, have been at this for a while now. Years, if you count the time you and Krysta hunted vampires before you transformed. If something happens, I’m more likely to think on my feet and less likely to be traumatized. Plus…” She gave his shoulder an affectionate punch with her free hand. “I’ll have you at my back.”
Nodding, he met her pretty brown eyes. “Always.”
Nicole was his best friend. He would always be there for her. And even if this mission didn’t carry an element of danger, Sean still wouldn’t want her to go simply because he’d miss her.
She blinked. And the moment passed. “Well.” Releasing his hand, she stood up and grabbed the bag’s handles. “I think that’s everything.”
Sean rose. “Seriously? All you packed was underwear and weapons.”