Summit at Sunset (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 3) (37 page)

He deliberately went out of his way to walk past her on his route to the dining room and teased, “How convenient. Making access easier to feed on me?”

“That,” she conceded in a light tone, “and I like to keep troublemakers close by.”

He stuck out his tongue at her over his shoulder, and she giggled.

Once seated in the dining room, he ordered brunch and waited for his food to arrive. While he was perusing a day-old copy of
The New York Times
, Dori appeared at his tableside and pulled up a chair next to his.

“Why is it that I’m always finding you down here?” she teased.

He looked over the top of his paper at the beguiling brunette, hoping that her positive demeanor portended good news.

“I happen to like eating.”

“Your appetite is epic,” she remarked with a smirk.

“Somebody got up on the right side of bed.”

She shrugged and accepted fresh coffee offered by a passing waiter.

Watching the man depart, she informed him, “I have discovered something interesting about Alton’s new toys.”

His eyes darted to her with rapt attention and he laid his newspaper aside. “Such as?”

“The handheld tracking device is fairly large and operates as a proximity detection unit,” she said. “It’s still nestled in the briefcase as of this morning, which means they intend to use it only if we turn up missing.”

“How does that help us?”

“It means that as long as we slip out stealthily enough, we’ll have a short time to investigate before they notice,” she explained. “Then they have to take the time to hone in on us, rather than receiving immediate GPS coordinates for our position. If we do our job right, we’ll have all the information we need before they locate us. Then, if we’re correct, they’ll be happy that we uncovered useful information.”

“Yeah, but they’re still going to be majorly pissed at us,” he said.

Especially Kat.

She shrugged. “An acceptable risk for proving our point, I should think.”

“You don’t know Kat,” he groaned and did a double-take when he saw her openly grinning at him. “What?”

“Your choice in women,” she wistfully contemplated with a shake of her head. “Both of them.”

He started to inquire further, but she took a final sip of her coffee and rose to leave.

“Do something relaxing today,” she instructed him. “Then you and Aiden meet up with me in the gardens at four o’clock. And be sure to bring a small flashlight with you.”

He watched her go with a puzzled expression, but he was quickly distracted by the arrival of his food.

Following his meal, Caleb spent the day fishing at the miniature lake at the rear of the conference property. He had been able to rent a rod and tackle at the courtesy shop skirting the small dock. The water was clear and the fish plentiful, but he released everything that he caught.

He savored a relaxing day appreciating the beautiful scenery around him and even ate lunch lakeside. In truth, it was the first day since his beating at the local police station that he actually felt “normal.” Nearly all the soreness had abated in his muscles, thanks to Katrina’s blood injections, and he had finally managed to avoid dwelling on the uncertain budget situation at his college.

It’s not as if I have any control over what might happen, so I may as well try to live in the moment while things are enjoyable.

He reveled in his surroundings, frequently gazing across the lake’s shoreline or up at the looming mountains blanketed in lush forest. Despite the recent dangerous events, it was an amazing place to visit, and he wished there weren’t so much drama associated with his trip so that he could embrace it in earnest.

Maybe Kat and I can visit again someday. Only next time, alone.

The day quickly passed, and four o’clock came sooner than expected. He returned to his new suite to shower and change clothes, selecting a dark t-shirt and jeans. Though they hadn’t coordinated their wardrobe, he found Dori similarly dressed as she stood beside Aiden. However, in lieu of t-shirt she wore a fashionable black cami and suede bolero jacket. She also carried a small leather satchel in one hand.

Caleb weighed the merits of his own ensemble and considered whether to return to his suite to change clothes.

I thought this was a spy mission, not a fashion show
.

“The truck’s already parked at the facility’s freight entrance,” she informed him, ignoring his self-deprecating expression.

The plan was simple and relied upon Aiden’s skill with deception. Granted, there were a number of other unplanned variables, but it was the best opportunity available to them. It wasn’t as if they could just blatantly commandeer a vehicle without being noticed and pursued.

“I just hope you two know what you’re doing,” Aiden offered. “But we had better do this quick. Captain Turner wants to meet with me in an hour. She had a few questions about the electrical fiasco from last night.”

Caleb’s eyes darted to his. “Don’t even mention us while you’re with her, Aiden. She picks up on things like a hawk. It’s uncanny, really.”

The young electrician held up his hands.

“Hey, no problem. I’m just planning to talk about electricity, nothing more.”

They gave Aiden time to make his way to the freight area, and then took a circuitous route to a spot not far from the freight entrance. Caleb was pleasantly surprised when everything seemed to go according to plan. They watched as Aiden was able to distract the human guard, and only two other staff milled around the area.

As Dori predicted, a linens service truck was parked in the freight dock area. The driver and a hotel staff member placed two large loads of linens in the back of the truck and returned inside. Nobody noticed as Dori and Caleb slipped into the back of the truck. Even better, there were already large piles of sheets, towels, table cloths, and a host of other things to hide behind. After a final heave of linens onto the top of the piles, the truck departed the conference site property and made its way towards town.

Following a half-hour drive, the truck came to a final halt, and the engine shut off. After hearing the driver’s side door open and close, Dori and Caleb waited for a minute to determine if the rear doors were to be opened or not. A flashlight snapped on, and Dori took note of the time.

She made the universal symbol for silence and crept to the rear doors. Carefully cracking open one door, she peered through the sliver. Following a quick motion of her hand, Caleb cautiously maneuvered his way to her.

The truck was parked at the rear of the cleaning service building in town. Dori slipped out and visually scanned the area before urging Caleb to follow. They stood in a wide alleyway serving as a rear shipping access for the two rows of buildings facing each other.

Making haste, they went down the alley to the main street and proceeded along lesser-traveled side streets towards their destination. The sun was on its downward trajectory to sunset, and Caleb anticipated that they only had a few hours before needing to worry about lurking vampires.

Within twenty minutes, they had made their way to the familiar field that led into the forest overlooked by the nearby mountain. Caleb admired Dori’s keen sense of direction and wondered for the hundredth time about the woman’s mysterious background.

When they finally arrived at the small storage building, Caleb noticed the lock had been replaced, and a heavy-duty metal bracket had been installed across the door and frame. But Dori seemed prepared and withdrew a small set of lock picks.

“You’re a regular
Jane
Bond,” he quipped.

She cast him a demure look and went to work on the lock with alarming efficiency.

He peered overhead at the sky, remarking, “It’ll be sunset soon. We better do this quickly.”

She cast him a wry look, asking, “So, now you’re afraid that vampires are going to come swarming out here to get us?”

His voice was tight as he replied, “Aren’t you?”

“Yeah, kind of,” she admitted as the lock snapped open with a clink.

The door opened to reveal the same ramshackle interior they had seen on their previous visit. Dori reached into her leather satchel, retrieving a small electronic device about the size of a deck of playing cards. It was black and only sported a couple of buttons and multi-colored LED lights.

“What’s that?”

“Hopefully, something that’ll save us some time. I’ve been giving this shack a lot of thought since we were last here.”

She pressed a button on the device and began waving it close to the benches and walls inside while closely watching the LED lights. When she waved it near the back wall where the tool-laden pegboard was mounted, the LEDs lit up like the Fourth of July. She continued waving the device in the manner of a magician performing a show until she had swept the entire back wall area.

“Find something?”

“Yep,” she replied and moved the device to an area just to the right of where the pegboard ended about halfway between the floor and ceiling.

She pressed another button, holding it while a high-pitched tone emitted from the device. After what seemed like an eternity, Caleb anxiously peered outside the building, half-expecting someone to show up at any moment. He turned back to her as a mysterious clicking sound emanated from the wall.

The length of wall covered by the pegboard suddenly separated along its rightmost edge from the rest of the wall. Dori pressed on that section, which swung open to reveal a darkened cave-like corridor before them.

The scent of stale, moist air wafted out to greet them as Caleb muttered, “Well, I’ll be damned.”

“The photos were accurate, it seems,” she noted with satisfaction. “This, my friend, is the entrance to the mine that was active until just a few decades ago.”

She swapped the small handheld device for a flashlight from her satchel. He started forward with his own small flashlight, but she stopped him by pressing her palm against his chest.

“I think we’ll overlook chivalry for now,” she cautioned. “This time, it’s ladies first.”

He shrugged and followed her into the darkness.

*    *    *    *

Katrina sat in the conference room, appreciating the more positive tone of the meeting that day. Nearly the entire session had been productive at some level. She had to admit that the reappearance of the ancient Hakizimana had a positive effect on the other attendees. At least some things were finally falling into place, or so it seemed to her.

However, they were no closer to discovering who had installed the UV bulbs in the light fixtures of Katrina’s suite. Everyone had reacted with surprise, shock, or concern upon Alton’s announcement of the development. She was convinced, however, that someone in the room had some nefarious level of knowledge.

A knock at the door caused a pause in the discussions, and everyone looked up as one of the vampire security guards from outside carried a small note into the room.

“My apologies for the interruption, but an urgent message needs to be passed along,” he announced and scouted the room for the recipient.

The guard strode over to Dominic Ambrogio, who accepted the message with a slight nod of his head. The dark-haired vampire quickly scanned the message as others curiously watched him.

“I’m afraid that I must withdraw early,” he politely offered. “A matter of urgency requires my attention.”

Katrina closely watched as the vampire rose and quickly departed the room behind the security guard. Her eyes darted to Alton, who watched with equal curiosity.

After the door closed, the discussion continued, and Katrina tried to refocus on the topic at hand.

*    *    *    *

As Dori and Caleb proceeded into the silence of the cave-like corridor, he was struck by the oppressive feeling of the environment. The darkness pressed in from all sides, while the rock walls had an eerie subterranean aura. Large timbers appeared at intervals to reinforce the makeshift walls and ceiling. A quick sweep of light to the ceiling revealed metal light fixtures placed at intervals.

“Hey, there are lights in here,” he observed. “Let’s find a switch.”

They backtracked to the entrance where a nondescript switch was set almost flush with the cave wall. A flick of the switch bathed the corridor in a dull yellow illumination. The true depth of the corridor became eerily evident as they gazed down its length.

“Come on,” she urged and led the way forwards.

After a couple of hundred feet, they noticed a darker, unlit corridor branching off to the right. A flash of their lights confirmed that it was lengthy and curved to the left again further in the distance.

Dori flashed her light down at the floor.

“Lots of settled dirt with no footprints,” she announced. “Let’s follow the lights.”

Caleb followed her lead down the corridor.

Another corridor branched off to their left and was lit like the current path. They stopped and curiously looked down its length.

“Which way now?” he asked.

She seemed indecisive and nervously chewed her bottom lip with a contemplative expression. “Left,” she decided aloud.

After following the side corridor a hundred feet or so, they noticed a sturdy metal door set into the wall. It creaked as Dori opened it, and she had to shine her flashlight inside to see. It appeared to be a large storage room of some kind. Heavy wood workbenches lined the walls, and a metal storage cabinet stood in the corner. The tables were strewn with a variety of hand tools, including light fixture ballasts. Cardboard boxes of various-sized light bulbs were stacked in a corner.

Dori peered further down the corridor and saw it bend to the right. “Let’s move on,” she suggested.

Around the bend, the passageway led on for another hundred feet or so until finally ending with a heavy-set metal door like the one on the supply room. It was closed and securely locked by an industrial-looking deadbolt lock. They retraced their steps until reaching the original passageway and proceeded further up its length.

After more than an hour of investigation, they uncovered two additional locked metal doors and a series of unlit corridors.