Jordan Summers - [Dead World 01] (14 page)

A waiter came by and removed their empty plates.

"How long have you worked at the center?"
Gina asked.

"Forever it seems. The
place would shut down with
out me."
He winked. "Don't forget to let me know if
you need anything examined. It would be on the house,
seeing as
you're one of u—"

"Kane keeps this town
going," Morgan interrupted,
glaring
at his cousin. "He's the only full-time doctor
in these parts. We have a few part-timers, but none
choose to
stay for long. Kane pulls shifts at the emergency care center, makes house
calls, and visits the
elder care facility
at least twice a week. He's a regular humanitarian," Morgan said jokingly,
even though it was the truth. "Nuria would've succumbed to the mal
adies
plaguing all small boundary towns without Kane's care and nurturing of its
citizens."

Kane blinked as if he hadn't heard Morgan correctly.
"Why, thank you, cousin. I didn't think you'd
noticed." Humor glittered in his eyes, along with spec
ulation.

"Nuria is lucky to have you," Gina said.

"Did I mention that he's also a notorious
flirt?" Morgan added.

"No, you didn't. I could see that." She
grinned.

"Don't pay any attention to him, Gina. His bark
is far worse than his bite."

Kane flicked Morgan a curious glance, then turned his
attention back to Gina. "Now, cousin, quit lying to the woman. We both
know that's not true."

Gina glanced at both men and laughed.

"I'm really a pussycat," Kane said, showing
off his dazzling smile.

She shook her head. "Somehow I doubt that."
Her lips parted slightly, revealing the pink tip of her tongue.

"Like I said, smart girl." Morgan stared,
unable to
look away from her lush, inviting
mouth. The urge to
kiss her and see if she tasted as delicious as he
imagined rode him hard. He gripped the arms of his chair to keep from acting
on the impulse.

"Sure there isn't anything we can do to convince
you to stay longer?" Kane asked smoothly. "We can be quite persuasive
given the chance."

Morgan's attention snapped to his cousin. He'd all but
warned Kane away from Gina. What did he have to do to get it into his thick
head, grab him by the scruff until he showed his belly?

"Sorry, I'll only be here a day or two. Not
enough time to socialize," she said.

Kane made a show of glancing at her, and then at
Morgan. "Funny, it looks like you're doing a bang-up job to me."

Red's expression turned to one of panic. 'This
isn't... I'm not. . ."

An awkward silence fell upon the table.

Kane licked his bottom lip. "If this isn't
social,
then I see no reason why you can't
go out with me before you leave. At least give me a chance to show you
not
everyone in Nuria is like my stuffy cousin here." He nodded in Morgan's direction.
"What do you say?"

Red tore strips from her recycled napkin while her
gaze darted around the room. Instead of stepping in to save her like he wanted
to do, Morgan waited for her response, a mixture of dread and hope filling him.
Women didn't turn Kane down. Would Gina be the first?

He and Kane had always been highly competitive,
whether they were hunting, fighting, or chasing women. They both played to win
and sometimes shared the spoils. Gina was taking too long to answer. This
didn't bode well for him. Morgan's gut
clenched
and his ribs squeezed. Sweat broke out over
his brow. He tugged at his
collar and took a drink of water.

"I have no doubt that you could be quite convinc
ing, but there really won't be time. I hope you
under
stand. Thanks anyway," she said.

Relief flooded Morgan and his muscles relaxed. He
shouldn't care whether Gina wanted Kane because she'd be gone soon enough, but
he did. For some reason, her answer was very important to him. and possibly to
their future.

"Don't you have somewhere you need to be?"
Morgan asked, unable to hide the triumph in his voice.

Kane shook his head.  "No,  dear cousin. You
should know that I have all the time in the world to talk to a beautiful
woman."

"Well, that's too bad, since we were just
leaving. You can have our table, if you like." Morgan stood, his gaze
going to Gina.

"It was nice to seeing you again." She
followed Morgan's lead and was on her feet before he had a chance to finish
pushing in his chair. "It's all yours." She flicked her wrist, stepping
away from the table.

The moment she did. a panel opened up and the table
disappeared. The floor gently vibrated and gurgled beneath their feet.

"What's happening?" Gina asked.

"The table is being cleaned and disinfected.
It'll return in a minute," Kane said.

Gina stepped back and collided with Morgan's chest.
She gave a startled squeak and tried to scoot away. Morgan caught her elbow and
brought her against him before she toppled the chair beside her.

Gina's scent changed on contact, drowning his
senses, firing his blood. His grip tightened
involuntar
ily and he briefly closed
his eyes. Morgan took a deep
breath and willed his fingers to relax. She
stepped slowly out of his embrace, as if she were reluctant to move.

Morgan exchanged glances with Kane.
His cousin's nostrils flared a second before his expression soured. He'd just
caught the sudden change in her delicate fragrance that signaled arousal. Gina
had made her decision without even realizing it. Tension crackled in the !air
as the two men faced off. The voices around them
dropped to hushed whispers. Everyone, including
Mor
gan, was waiting
to see if Kane would concede.

The table popped up, glistening from the thorough
cleaning.

Gina jumped and let out a nervous laugh.

"All yours." Morgan swept his hand above the
shiny surface. "Enjoy your evening, Kane."

"You, too, cousin." Kane gave Morgan a curt
nod before turning his attention to Gina. "Always a pleasure," he
said, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips.

Gina's pulse jumped in her throat.

Morgan saw it and tensed.

Kane's gaze fell on him and he grinned. The devilish
glint in his eyes told Morgan that he hadn't given up on Gina yet.

Morgan walked Gina outside. The
night was warm,
but bearable. Certainly
comfortable enough for them
to take an
evening stroll. He pushed thoughts of Kane
out of his head. He'd talk to
his cousin tomorrow. If need be, he'd order him to back down, but Morgan hoped
it wouldn't come to that.

"Thank you for dinner," Gina said, bringing
him back to the present.

Morgan smiled. "It was my pleasure."

"I'm sorry," she said, but she sounded like
she wasn't sure what she was apologizing for. "Kane
caught me a little off guard.
I'm
not used to men .
She shrugged, her
unease apparent.

"Don't worry about it. Kane has that effect on
people—well, women mostly, but he's harmless."
Morgan gave her hand a quick squeeze, then released
her. "I
have to say this is the first time I've ever seen a woman stand firm and not
fall at his feet."

"Really?" she asked.

"Oh yes." He nodded. "Can I ask why you
turned him down? I mean it's obvious that women find him attractive."

"Kane's certainly easy on the eyes. There's no
denying that. And he genuinely seems like a nice
guy.
The kind of guy that you'd want to settle down with. if you're into
that sort of thing." Her teeth tugged on her bottom lip.

"And I take it you're not." Morgan said.
Disappointment settled heavy on his shoulders.

'I didn't say that." She shook her head.
"Look, my priorities are different. I took an oath to serve the republics.
Men like Kane ... well, they don't under-stand things like that. So it's easier
in the end to avoid those types of complications. I guess in that respect I'm
just not like most women."

He regarded her for a moment to gauge her sincerity.
  "
Truer
words have never been spoken," he murm
ured.

Gina was unique, and not just because of the blood
running through her veins. She'd chosen a rough path for a woman to take by
joining the IPTT and had proven herself repeatedly. Morgan respected anyone
with that kind of tenacity and sense of honor. The fact that those traits were
coming from a woman just made her all the more appealing.

His heart hiccupped and began to race. Morgan hadn't
been this nervous around a woman since his

teens. He knew Gina was attracted to him at least a
little. She'd proven that in the food dispensing station, when her scent
changed after he'd touched her. The fact that it hadn't when Kane kissed her
hand only reinforced his beliefs. Suddenly Morgan wasn't sure what to say—or
do.

They walked on, the sidewalks
nearly empty as Gina made a right toward the share space she'd rented. Morgan
sensed danger before spotting it. His head snapped
up and he tensed, ready for a fight. Shadows shifted
and morphed, swirling menacingly. Suddenly, Raphael
Vega appeared. The lab vamp glided
down the side
walk toward them. Gina's body stilled.

"It's okay," Morgan assured her, convinced
he could reach his weapon in time if necessary.

Raphael stopped three feet away,
his flat doll-like
prosthetic eyes moving
from Morgan to Gina and
back. He inclined
his head. "Sheriff," he said in way of
greeting.

"Raphael. What are you still doing around
here?" Morgan's question was cordial, but his tone revealed the underlying
tension between the two men.

The vampire ignored his question. "Aren't you going
to introduce me to your
friend?"

Gina glanced at Morgan.

He exhaled loudly. "Gina Santiago, Raphael Vega.
He's our resident rat catcher."

Raphael laughed, the twinkling
sound filling the air.
He approached Gina and held out his hand. When she extended hers, he
flipped it palm down and pressed a
kiss
to the back of her knuckles. "It's a pleasure." He
smiled, his gaze predatory. "Your perfume is
divine."

Gina's brow creased. "I'm not wearing any."

"My mistake. It must just be
you," Raphael said
smoothly.

Morgan knew that Raphael was
smelling her blood.
It
took every fiber of his being not to pound the vamp's
face in. "Gina's a member of the tactical
team," Morgan said casually.

Raphael dropped Gina's hand like it had scalded him,
hissing as he stepped back.

"Did I say something wrong?" she asked.

Morgan grinned. "No, I did. You'll have to excuse
Raphael's rude behavior. Not everyone in town is as fond of the tactical team
as I am."

Gina bust out laughing. "Actually, I'm used to
his kind of response. It's the rest of the town's behavior that I find
odd."

"We'd better get going. Raphael was just leaving,
weren't you?"

"My apologies, dear lady. I seem to have
forgotten a previous engagement." The vampire smiled and bowed to Gina,
then turned to face Morgan. "Sher
iff,"
he said, amusement infusing the word. "I had no
idea you liked to
play with fire."

"There's a lot you don't know about me,
Raphael."

"Indeed. Good thing I have all the time in the
world to find out." The vampire faded into the night as if he'd never been
there.

"Don't bet on it," Morgan muttered.

Gina tilted her head to look at
him. "What was that
all about?"

"We have a lot of eccentric people in this town.
They like the fact they can be themselves here."

"I've never seen anyone so pale. His skin is
almost translucent. From the looks of him, you'd think he never saw the
sun."

“Now there's a thought."
Morgan smiled, remem
bering
the first time he'd witnessed a full-fledged labo
ratory vampire meeting the dawn. They didn't burst
into flames like the old legends suggested.
Instead, they
hardened and began to
expand until they exploded into
thousands
of pieces of living shrapnel. You had to stand
back or they'd take you with them into the next world.
They were the perfect weapon, dead or alive.

Many enemy soldiers and the vampire hunters who'd
followed learned that lesson the hard way.

"The boundary brings in all types, eh?" she
asked

"Oh, yeah." Morgan
nodded. "And Raphael is one of the odder ones. You may want to give him a
wide
berth."