Summit at Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 3) (18 page)

“I thought that might be the case, but one never knows nowadays,” Katrina levelly replied.

“Too true,” the vampire agreed. “I bid you both good evening,” he added before quietly making his way towards the room’s exit.

Katrina took a moment to mark the vampire’s faces in the room deliberately, content that her declaration had been made to all. Some looked on in silent acknowledgement, while others dismissively looked away. Already she was getting a sense of where a subtle polarization was beginning to occur among her kind.

Although none of that matters where Caleb’s safety is concerned
.

Paige raised a silent toast to Katrina with a wine glass of blood, while Ethan nodded supportively before turning his full attention back to Paige. Conversations quickly began to strike up again in earnest, and everyone returned to their former distractions.

Caleb’s arm reached around his mate’s slim waist with pride, and he looked up at her adoringly. “I so love you,” he whispered.

“You better…troublemaker,” she teased as she bent her head down to kiss him once on the lips. However, her cavalier exterior was merely a façade for the love that welled inside her for the young man in her arms at that moment.

My safe mate
.

Thankfully, the remainder of the evening continued uneventfully for everyone, and Caleb remained close to Katrina as she introduced him to more of her peers.

By the time they returned to their suite, it was well after two o’clock in the morning, and Caleb was nearly exhausted. Even the sugar and caffeine from the colas he liberally consumed at the reception failed to curtail his incessant yawns. He noted that he wasn’t the only human in attendance who had problems keeping his eyes open. Many of the vampires conceded the evening only after viewing the pitiful state of their human companions, while vampires without human charges lingered to continue their conversations.

Katrina slipped from her dress and high-heeled shoes as Caleb likewise removed his clothes. Despite multiple glasses of blood at the reception to curtail her thirst, Katrina was looking forward to partaking in some of his blood. However, it was quickly becoming apparent by his lethargic behavior that he was simply looking forward to going to bed.

He slid beneath the covers of the bed, and she joined him after turning off the lights. Snuggling next to his warm body, she kissed him on the soft skin of his neck.

“Somebody smells wonderfully tasty.”

He groggily acknowledged her and suddenly realized her intentions.

Oh, but I’m so tired
, he guiltily thought.

It wasn’t as if she asked for much from him, and he felt like a heel for being so tired. Taking a deep breath with a sense of fortitude, he opened his eyes to see her green eyes slightly glowing back at him.

“Want a nibble?” he asked with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

She scrutinized him in the darkness, her vision plainly seeing the tired expression on his face and reflected in his pale blue eyes.

I should just let him go to sleep
, she reasoned as she kissed him on the tip of his nose while starting to lie down.

“Never mind. Good night, my love,” she offered.

But he managed to reach out and grasp her arm, stopping her from moving away from him.

“Wait. Please, take a little nightcap first,” he gently insisted.

Watching him with an endearing expression, she shook her head. “You’re amazing, my love,” she complimented before warmly kissing him on the lips. “I’ll make this fast.”

He turned his head away from her, cleanly exposing his neck. He felt her lips part as they formed a seal over his skin, and he sensed her silky warm tongue press against his flesh. The numbing sensation quickly formed and before long he felt her fangs extend into his neck with only the slightest pressure. The euphoria he normally felt when she drew blood from him seemed stronger, and his thoughts quickly drifted on a soothing sea of near unconsciousness. And for the first time since he met her, he drifted off to sleep as she drew blood from him.

She sensed him slip into unconsciousness, which momentarily alarmed her until she measured his steady breathing in conjunction with the strong beat of his pulse.

My dear, thoughtful Caleb
, she silently mused as she continued to draw an additional mouthful of his blood.

She loved him totally and once again was impacted by his giving nature and how he strove to meet her needs. After pressing her tongue against his skin to seal the wounds on his neck, she curled up next to him and held him close to her while listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

*    *    *    *

Chapter 5: A Walk in the Woods

Paige stood in the lobby watching the bustling activity as vampires filled the area either to chat or to make their way towards the large conference room where the primary meeting was scheduled to take place. It was still early morning, and very few humans were around, mostly hotel staff.

Her thoughts drifted to the previous evening’s reception and the interesting and attractive Dr. Ethan Reynolds. He had surprised her with his disarming charm and good looks, which was exactly why she needed to keep her guard up.

Could be a mole trying to glean information concerning Alton’s plans
, she suspiciously pondered.
But then, what if he’s simply a nice guy trying to get to know me at a purely social level?

Great
, she surmised with a wry expression.
I’m turning into Katrina.

Her eyes continued to sweep the expansive lobby and fell upon a briefcase-carrying vampire of medium height and build who had stopped to talk with Major Pietari. She recognized the brown-haired Croatian vampire as Baldar Dubravko, one of the primary investors who had funded the hotel’s expansion specifically for the purposes of hosting the conference. She watched as the major conversed with Dubravko in a casual manner.

Are they previously acquainted?

As Pietari invited the Croatian into the security office, a familiar voice sounded to distract her attention.

“Good morning, Paige. Coffee?” Dr. Reynolds brightly asked as he extended the small Styrofoam cup of steaming liquid to her.

She accepted the cup with a peculiar expression, but pleasantly regarded the handsome physician. “Thanks,” she replied.

Observing her reaction, Reynolds inquired, “You don’t like coffee, do you?”

She took a quick sip. Though it seemed a nice blend, coffee wasn’t something that she regularly drank.

“Sure, I like it well enough,” she replied with a shrug. “I’m just a little surprised to see a vampire who drinks it first thing in the morning instead of a steaming cup of the red stuff.

His eyebrows momentarily furrowed. “I usually don’t like drinking blood in front of other people,” he explained.

She wrestled with the oddity of his statement, given that he was a vampire.

You’ve got a lot of layers to you, don’t you
? she determined.

“Don’t like blood, do you?” she mimicked with a mischievous look.

He knowingly grinned in response, mimicking her with an exaggerated shrug. “Well, sure. I like it well enough.”

She brightly smiled over his ploy, appreciating his gentle eyes.

You do get more interesting by the minute, Ethan.

*    *    *    *

As soon as Katrina walked through the double oak doors leading into the large, conservatively-decorated conference room, she knew from the host of vampires gathered there that it was going to be an interesting conference.

She momentarily appreciated the oversized, rectangular walnut conference table that seemed to go on forever down the length of the center of the room. Its polished surface was like some sort of launching platform for a small aircraft, and she wondered how many sections it had needed to be cut into in order to install it in the room.

Over fifty chairs were assembled around the table, with the far end vacant of seating. The end closest to the main doors sported a leather chair with a placard labeled “Chairperson – Alton Rutherford” before it.

She shook her head, never doubting that Alton had prepared for nearly everything.

Including a soon-to-be-nominated co-chair
.

Vampires filed into the room and sought seats around the large table. Alton purposefully walked into the room and placed a stack of handouts and folders at the head of the table.

“Good morning, Katrina,” he offered and gestured with one hand to an empty seat at the end of the table immediately to his left.

“Good morning, Alton,” she politely replied, selecting instead to go to the far side of the room to a seat at the extreme end.

You’ll have me there soon enough
, she sulked.

Much to her satisfaction, he sourly acknowledged her before readopting his former professional visage.

Talise took the seat Alton had previously pointed out to Katrina with a friendly nod in her direction. The remaining seats were quickly filled, save for the one next to Katrina. The dark-haired vampire who had harassed Caleb entered the room and instantly located an available seat. His face quickly fell upon realizing that the only remaining place was next to Katrina.

His face turned stony as he sat down and politely murmured, “Good morning, Ms. Rawlings.”

“Why, good morning. Ambrogio, isn’t it?” she replied with a sardonic glare before focusing on the others around the table.

Big bully
, she added as an afterthought.

Two vampires wearing black business suits reached in to close the oak doors behind them, leaving the room to those gathered around the table. On cue, silence fell across the room, and everyone looked to Alton with a mix of curious or expectant expressions.

“Welcome, everyone, to what I hope will be a beneficial dialogue for each of us,” he began in a practiced tone. “This is the first of its kind to my knowledge: a vampire summit of sorts. An opportunity for us to work collectively towards mutually beneficial solutions to the host of challenges facing our kind.

“But first, let’s go around the table to introduce ourselves. I’m Alton Rutherford, your chairperson,” he said before gesturing to Talise to continue the introductions.

A number of the names were familiar to Katrina, many from the reception the prior evening. Still, she was surprised by how many in the room were unknown to her. Even more mysteriously, a quarter of the participants were acting as proxies for other vampires, though they merely indicated that they represented “other interested vampire parties” rather than revealing specific names. For some reason, that troubled her more than the bullies like the vampire seated next to her.

Following the introductions, Alton continued, “Now, as a matter of formality, I recommend we select a co-chair to serve in the event that I’m unable to preside over activities for any reason. Do I have any nominations or volunteers?”

Everyone curiously surveyed the faces around them for a few silent moments. Then Talise spoke up in a clear voice, “I nominate Katrina Rawlings.”

“I second,” announced the auburn-haired Dutch vampire named Rianne. She was a long-time acquaintance of Katrina’s.

“I nominate Baldar Dubravko,” announced a male vampire of Asian descent.

“Second for Baldar Dubravko,” said a female vampire of Middle Eastern decent.

The room quickly fell silent, and Alton directed, “Very well. I have two nominations on the floor. I’ll pass out blank cards and ask each of you to write either Baldar’s or Katrina’s name as your preference. The cards can be placed in this manila envelope, and we’ll immediately tally the results here at the table.”

Minutes later, the envelope returned to Alton, who placed the cards face-up with Katrina to his right and Baldar to his left. The process was expedient, and by the end, Katrina had received two-thirds of the vote.

“As you can see, with a definitive majority, I name Katrina Rawlings as our new co-chair,” Alton announced, followed by a small round of clapping from the group.

Katrina returned polite nods in response, though inside she dreaded her new promotion.

I really just wanted to be a fly on the wall through this
, she lamented.

Small murmurings of conversation began, which prompted Alton to continue, “With that concluded, let’s discuss some of the key objectives of our gathering. Given the recent events involving the rogue vampire, Chimalma, it’s clear that we could benefit from a formalized format for settling disputes between rival vampires and their interests.”

“It’s called battle,” one vampire mumbled. “Kill the other guy first.”

A few chuckles erupted, but silence followed a stern gaze from Alton.

“A mutual acknowledgement of declared vampire territories is a start. In addition, common rights and privileges to be observed by participating vampires may help,” he soberly offered. “Furthermore, continued technological advancements by the humans suggests that we would benefit from a common approach to handling potential breaches of discovery by them or their governments,” Alton continued.

“A time will come when we won’t be able to hide ourselves,” a female vampire interrupted. “It’s going to come to war eventually.”

Katrina’s eyes bored into Alton from across the room with a look of concern.

A war must be avoided
, she silently insisted.

“Perhaps not,” Alton countered, having noted her expression. “Suffice to say, a planned and unified approach to the topic would be best.”

Murmurs of agreement spread throughout the room.

“As the ranks of vampires internationally grow, addressing the problem of providing a reasonable means of financial sustainment would stabilize the vampire community. We can explore an organized mentorship for new vampires with opportunities for building financial stability through service,” Alton suggested. “It’s a reasonable way to shape the future of our culture, while also easing the transition of conversion.”

“Too many vampires already, in my view,” one vampire grumbled.

A few noises of agreement followed.

“It’s my hope that we can leave this summit with an agreeable framework related to these and other issues in hopes of refining details later in subsequent conferences such as this. With some hope, we may even find absent stakeholders who choose to take part in person,” Alton pointedly suggested, all the while monitoring a number of participants who were serving as proxies.

“You’re expecting instant solutions to these and other problems by chatting in a room over glasses of blood?” Dominic Ambrogio sarcastically inquired.

“Though well-intentioned, the agenda does seem somewhat unrealistic at first consideration,” Baldar agreed in support.

Katrina closely watched the exchange. Her suspicious mind raced as she observed the subtle reinforcement taking place. A blonde female vampire across from Katrina nodded in seeming agreement with Dubravko.

Alton raised a hand in a peaceable gesture, conceding, “Admittedly, this venture isn’t without its challenges. But at the risk of validating a prescient suggestion by Mr. Ambrogio, perhaps this would be a good time for a glass of blood during which time we can properly transfer Ms. Rawlings to the head of the table where the co-chair sits.”

Katrina subtly rolled her eyes and kept from groaning out loud.

I’m already regretting this
.

*    *    *    *

When Caleb woke, it was well past ten o’clock in the morning. He stretched in bed with a yawn, glancing at the empty spot next to him where Katrina had been the night before. A note lay on her pillow, and he reached over to pick it up. He took a moment to focus his still-weary eyes on the text.

He shook his head while lying the note on the nightstand.

“I’ll certainly try,” he murmured.

Then he rolled out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom to shave and start the day.

*    *    *    *

Paige sat at her small desk in the security office with a bored expression, staring listlessly at the multiple computer screens before her that displayed the various video surveillance camera images from all across the conference facility. With a series of mouse clicks, the images changed to cameras watching the outdoor areas.

Some cameras were placed outside the various buildings, while others observed from perches atop light poles. It seemed that virtually every area could be spied upon by the network of digital cameras. However, she knew that was an exaggeration, having inspected each camera location herself to familiarize herself with their placement

It’s not as if every camera sees in all directions at once, either
.

Though significant funds had been spent to install a reasonable network of viewing possibilities, the system failed to provide complete coverage at all times. It would have seemed like overkill for such a brief conference. The major had explained to her that the system had to be realistic to maintain after the conference ended and regular vacationing humans returned to using the facility as a scenic vacation retreat.

The door gently opened, and her eyes darted to spy Caleb as he entered. She brightly grinned at him and motioned with her hand for him to enter.

“Hey, look who’s finally up and around,” she teased.

“You mean you didn’t see me coming?” he shot back while moving to sit in a chair set before her desk. “What kind of security captain are you, anyway?”

She cast a withering expression and pointed to the screens before her.

“Hey, I’m only one set of eyes for all these miniaturized windows, all right, Mr. Sarcasm? Hell, I can’t even get all the viewing screens up at one time. Gotta cycle through three sets just to look at them all.”

“You could always add another monitor to the two you already have,” he suggested. “I’m sure they could add another video card and install the drivers for the –”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks for the advice, Bill Gates.”

“I can tell you’re having fun with this.”

She snorted and shook her head. The phone rang, and she glared at it while picking up the receiver.

“Security office. Captain Turner speaking,” she answered in a flat voice.