Sunset Rising (Sunset Vampire Series, Book 5) (4 page)

Two distinct things convinced me
otherwise.

First, I wanted to see if there’d been any
progress in identifying my attackers.

Second, I desperately craved normality; or
at least, some semblance of it.

At the very least, I had to live a lie in
convincing fashion, pretending to be just another mundane graduate
student striving to complete his PhD.

It was a façade; a fabrication of reality.
And yet, I was getting better and better at presenting it to the
world around me.

In those moments when I was studying, or
typing an essay, or just hanging out with friends at a local pub, I
nearly believed it myself.

Almost, anyway.

However, I longed for an actual mundane
reality; one with no rival vampire factions, assassins trying to
kill me, or people I loved being in danger.

Maybe someday. Only someday couldn’t come
soon enough.

After a quick shower, I slipped on a pair of
jeans and a turtleneck sweater and headed downstairs.

The living room was empty and I noticed that
the door to the nearby study was closed. My human bodyguard, Roman,
sat atop a barstool at the kitchen counter, nursing a glass of
orange juice and looking more himself.

“
You look almost human
again,” I said, walking over to pat him on the back.

“
Yeah. Feelin’ a lot
better. Thanks,” he said. “How about you?”

I shrugged. “Okay, or at least, on my way to
it.”

The study door opened and Kat walked through
the living room to where I stood.

“
Good morning, my love,”
she said, enfolding me in her arms. “Sleep well?”

I tightly embraced her, happy to hold
her.

“
Well enough,” I said.
“Actually, I barely remember my head hitting the pillow. The next
thing I knew, my alarm’s going off.”

“
It’s no wonder. You’re
exhausted,” she said. “Maybe you can go to bed early
tonight.”

She kissed me and separated from our hug to
walk into the kitchen and over to a water kettle that was heating
on the stove.

“
That’ll depend on what I
find out in my classes today,” I said. “I sense more lengthy essays
in my future.”

Graduate work was a full-time job all its
own; including frequent overtime.

“
Hey, where are Paige and
Ethan?” I asked.

“
They’re sleeping in,” Kat
said with a wink.

I was happy for Paige. I knew how much she’d
been missing Ethan, though no more than I’d missed Kat.

She poured hot water into three mugs with
teabags and scooted two mugs toward me. “One of those is for Alton.
He’s in the study.”

She placed the third mug in front of Roman,
who gratefully nodded at her. “This should help to perk up your
morning, Roman.”

“
Thank you, ma’am,” he
said.

I carefully transported my two mugs into the
study without spilling either. Alton looked up at me as he sat
behind the oak desk.

“
Good morning, my boy,” he
said, accepting one of the mugs. “Mm. Earl Grey.”

He gestured to the notebook computer screen
before him. “Come around here. I’ll show you what we’ve
discovered.”

He opened up a photo of one of my attackers.
It may have been the light that night, but for some reason the
photo didn’t make him look as pale as I’d recalled.

“
He’s Angelo Potenza, age
thirty-two,” Alton said. “A third-generation American of Italian
heritage.”

“
You mean, he
was
,” I said.

“
No, he still is,” he
said. “Merely more dead than he was last week.”

What could I say to that?

I took a tentative sip of hot tea.

“
Potenza has an arrest
record going back to age eighteen. He’s from Philadelphia; his last
known address of residence, though arrest records within the past
year place him in and around Newark, New Jersey and New York City.
His adult record reflects mostly aggravated assault, petty larceny,
and disorderly conduct charges,” he said. “Though I wouldn’t be
surprised if his juvenile records are filled with similar
references.”

“
Do you know who sent him
after me?” I asked.

“
Not as yet,” he said.
“But I will in time.”

“
Was he a vampire?” I
asked. “Maybe turning?”

Somehow, I doubted I’d have been able to
kill one vampire, much less two. But if they’d been like me when I
was in the process of turning, that might be another story.

He frowned. “Not as such. But we should know
more when we get the blood test results back.”

He brought up the photo of my other
attacker; again with a more normal-looking complexion.

“
Donnie Norwood, age
twenty-nine,” he said. “He’s originally from Compton, California,
but his recent address indicates New York City. His arrest records
are similar to Potenza, except there are added charges referencing
both stalking and witness intimidation.”

“
So these guys were just
thugs?” I asked.

He took a sip of his tea. “This is a lovely
blend.”

He cleared the notebook screen and lightly
patted my shoulder. “This is all preliminary information; just the
beginning, so to speak. For now, you only need to concern yourself
with college and your research. Incidentally, I’ll expect a
progress report on your dissertation subject very soon.”

My mind buzzed with quandaries concerning
Norwood and Potenza, but clearly Alton wanted me to focus on more
pressing matters.

“
Just go to class?” I
asked. “It’s going to be hard to focus on that after all that’s
happened.”

“
Perhaps,” he said.
“Still, that’s your mission, remember? That’s why you’re here. Let
Katrina and me worry about these other matters.”

He draped his arm around my shoulders and
guided me back toward the study door. “Now, why don’t you get some
breakfast and carry on with your day. Do stay close to Mr. Lee,
won’t you? We’ll chat more this evening. Oh, and don’t forget, you
and I have some additional training activities to add to your
regimen, as well.”

Great, more things to occupy my already
limited time.

“
Have a productive day. We
both have a full agenda, it seems,” he said. “Oh, and thank you for
the tea.”

Before I could say anything further, he
promptly closed the study door on me.

“
Um, you’re welcome,” I
said.

I wandered back to the kitchen counter where
Roman still sat, only to discover Kat was busy cooking
breakfast.

The combined smell of eggs, bacon, and
pancakes made my mouth water.

“
I hope you don’t mind
turkey bacon, Roman,” Kat said. “It’s much leaner and healthier
than pork.”

She spared a warm smile as she glanced back
over her shoulder at me. “Caleb has grown to like it.”

I sat on a barstool next to Roman as she
presented him and me with heaped platefuls of food.

“
Thank you, ma’am,” Roman
said.

“
Dig in,” she
said.

“
Wow, this looks and
smells amazing,” he said. “Sure beats our usual bowl of
oatmeal.”

“
You’re in for a treat.
Kat’s a great cook,” I said.

She sat a bottle of maple syrup on the
counter between us.

As I expected, everything tasted absolutely
wonderful. Among all the other things surrounding Kat’s daily
absence in my life, I missed her preparing meals for me.

“
Oh, I’m in heaven,” I
said.

She reached out to caress the side of my
face with her soft fingertips. A pleasurable shiver ran through my
body.

“
Nobody’s going to believe
me when I tell them the General made breakfast for me,” Roman
said.

He paused, as if catching himself, and
warily looked up at Kat. “That is, unless you have an objection,
General. I certainly don’t openly discuss personal matters
involving you, Mr. Taylor, or the household.”

She appeared amused. “Meals are safely open
for discussion, Roman. Besides, I enjoy shocking the troops from
time to time.”

And, just like that, my mate, the love of my
life, went from being my lover back to being figurehead in charge
of a combined vampire-human army.

I didn’t think I’d ever get used to
that.

It was yet another of my secret realities
that must not be revealed to anyone.

After she prepared a second set of pancakes,
she leaned back against the kitchen counter and watched me eat with
a satisfied expression.

Roman finished eating first and went
upstairs, so I helped clear the counter of dishes.

“
Thanks for breakfast,” I
said.

She took me in her arms and imparted a
lengthy kiss, which I returned in kind.

“
Will you be here tonight,
or is this your way of saying goodbye?” I asked.

I was half-afraid to ask that. I realized
that she and Alton were both probably needed back in London, but I
didn’t want her to leave town yet.

“
This is my way of saying
have a good day today,” she said. “I’ll be here for a few more
days.”

“
Until?” I
asked.

She lightly tapped me on the tip of my nose
with her fingertip. “Until I follow up on some leads, and I’m
satisfied that you’re safe.”

“
I’m glad you’re here,” I
said.

She nodded. “Me, too.”

After a quick kiss, she said, “Okay, go do
something academic.”

I winked at her. “Hey, my entire day is
academic.”

Then I paused. “Wait, that sounded all
wrong.”

She shook her head and giggled in an
uncharacteristic fashion.

Frankly, it was a lovely sound coming from
her.

* * *

Before I knew it, the day passed quickly. I
silently commended myself on a practiced sense of subterfuge,
playing at being just a normal student among my peers.

“
How was your weekend?”
asked Natalie, a fellow grad student.

“
Pretty routine,” I lied.
“Studying and watching some TV. You?”

“
Oh, I got you beat,” she
said. “I went to a frat party with one of my girlfriends Friday
night. Then Saturday it was dancing out at clubs all night
long.”

Yeah, I got beat, all right. Friday night, I
was almost beaten to death!

I listened as she proceeded to describe the
club guys she had trouble choosing between.

Such was my day.

By early evening, I stopped by Yale’s main
library. One of my inter-library loans had arrived. It was a rare
copy of a book published in 1908 by my dissertation subject, Dr.
Oliver Simonson.

For some reason, Alton had
insisted that I write my dissertation about Simonson. It was part
of my bargain for being able to attend Yale with a full ride,
courtesy of
Uncle Alton
.

Simonson was considered an early
evolutionary biologist, even before the term had been properly
coined and widely accepted. The book I checked out was a detailed
study on diseases of the blood.

Upon skimming through it, I quickly
anticipated hours of complete and utter boredom.

I received a text message
from Roman:
You going to be much
longer?

I texted:
Why? Got a hot date on a Monday night?

He texted:
Funny.

I scanned the interior of the library and
noticed him sitting in a corner with a book propped open before
him. He frowned at me.

I texted:
Need a little more time here.

His reply was:
Ok.

Because I’d grown to become a cringing
masochist in my research pursuits, I decided to browse the catalog
system for any books on phlebotomy, just for some essential
background information.

A few minutes later, a
text from Kat interrupted me:
Coming home
soon?

I replied:
Still at the library.
Need more time.

She didn’t reply, so I continued my
search.

I used my iPad to look up the materials in
the online catalog and made my way to a relatively deserted portion
of the stacks to search for the books in question.

Too bad they don’t have these available as
eBooks.

As I picked a book from the shelf, I thought
I heard a shuffling sound nearby.

“
Roman?” I
asked.

I turned to exit the aisle and found myself
face to face with Paige. “Geez!”

She smirked at me. “Surprise. You’re sure
jumpy, kiddo. You nerds aren’t very observant.”

I shook my head with exasperation and turned
to walk in the opposite direction, only to practically run into
Katrina.

“
Crap,” I muttered with a
start.

She steadied me by grasping me by the upper
arms.

“
You vamps are so damned
stealthy,” I said.

Kat arched one of her eyebrows at me. “Well,
somebody’s awfully grumpy.”

I rolled my eyes and she released my
arms.

That’s when I noticed her outfit with
satisfaction.

Oh, so very sexy.

Her fitted blue jeans, knee-high boots, and
black leather jacket made her look like an edgy movie star.

She appeared both lethal and desirable.

“
You’re dressed to kill
tonight,” I said. “What are you two out doing?”

“
I’m relieving Roman,”
Paige said. “He gets off at sunset, you know.”