Taken by the Others (12 page)

“Being bitten takes a lot out of you,” one of the other White Hats commented on our way up the walk. His gruff voice was sympathetic; it occurred to me that some of these hunters might not be as crazy as I’d thought. “Once you get some fluids and protein, maybe a little rest, you’ll start feeling better. Do you know your blood type?”

I had to think hard for a second to dredge up the answer. “O-positive.”

Tiny said, “Jack, do we have any on ice?”

“I think so.” He held the door for us as the guys practically carried me through. They took me into a spacious living room, setting me down on one of the plush couches. I was grateful to be off my feet; sitting down helped the dizziness pass. Even better, they put me in the spot closest to the stone fireplace, which was radiating blessedly welcome warmth from a brightly burning stack of logs.

The other White Hats filed in, taking seats or disappearing deeper into the house. Jack stood across from me, a low coffee table between us. He was eyeing me speculatively, disapproval written all over his features. Knowing Jack, I’d bet dollars to donuts he thought I’d wanted to be bitten. “We’ll get you something to eat and drink in a moment. Did Max make you drink any of his blood?”

The thought alone made me gag. Making a face, I shakily sat up a bit more in the thick cushions. One of the other White Hats sidled closer, taking my arm. I was a little slow on the uptake, not thinking to pull away before he jabbed me with a needle and took some blood. Like I hadn’t lost enough of that already. I glared ineffectually after him as he disappeared around a corner.

Jack cleared his throat, bringing my attention back to him. “Well? Did he?”

I growled out my response. “No. Of course not, that’s disgusting.”

Tension I hadn’t noticed at first suddenly left him relaxed and smiling. He wasn’t glaring at me anymore. Huzzah.

“You’re right, it is disgusting. It’s also how a vampire bonds a still-living human to them, and part of the process of turning you into one of them. You’re sure?”

I had to swallow back bile at the thought. “I’m sure.”

“Excellent. Our facilities aren’t the best, but we have a makeshift hospital set up in the basement here. Dr. Morrow will give you a transfusion once he’s prepared the equipment. I’ll let you get some rest, but in the morning I’d like to get the details on what happened.”

“Sure.”

He nodded sharply and backed away, settling into an empty seat and falling into quiet discussion with Tiny about the events of the evening. I found myself looking around curiously.

It seemed Jack had a thing for the beach. There were shells and miniature sailboats lining the mantel, and on the whitewashed wall, a gorgeous oil painting of a harbor with hundreds of boats lining the beach. The floors were honeyed pine varnished and waxed to a pale golden glow, and the furniture was upholstered in dark blue with treated wooden accents slightly darker than the floors. There were bookshelves with books on sailing and the sea, more little boats, some large pieces of frosty sea glass, and even a tall jar with sand and brightly colored seashells inside. All in all, a cozy, lovely place. It completely skewed my impression of him and his hunting buddies.

Said hunting buddies did look out of place in that bright, cheerful sailing enthusiast’s haven, what with all the leather, fatigues, and combat boots. Not to mention the weapons bristling from every pocket, peeking out from under jackets or casually propped up beside chairs. They all looked tired and drained. A couple guys appeared to have fallen asleep in their seats.

Devon, who had disappeared into one of the other rooms after helping me to the couch, reappeared carrying a tray. A tall, slender woman dressed in hunter’s garb accompanied him. She introduced herself as Nikki. They offered me sandwiches, which I didn’t feel much like eating, but the hot tea with honey and lemon that Devon pressed into my hands was welcome.

“Drink that, then I’ll help you downstairs,” he said.

I did as I was told, closing my eyes as I sipped at the tea. There was a faint medicinal undertone to it that made me wonder what he’d laced it with.

A few minutes later, Tiny was nudging my shoulder. The soft murmur of conversations between the other hunters in the background–or whatever was in the tea–had lulled me to the edge of sleep. “You still awake?”

“Ugh. Yeah.” Opening my eyes was phenomenally difficult.

He grinned down at me, holding out a hand. “Let’s go see Dr. Morrow. Then you can sleep as long as you want.”

I nodded wearily, taking his outstretched hand in both of mine. He engulfed my fingers with his, bringing me up to my feet. I stumbled along with Jack, Devon, Tiny, and the hunter woman hovering over me. They helped me down the wide wooden staircase into the basement, which had been converted into a tiny hospital complete with beds, IV drips, and even lab equipment. Squinting against the harsh fluorescent track lighting, I spotted two other “patients.” They were swaddled up in clean sheets and warm blankets, both fast asleep. I could see that the leg of one was in traction. The left forearm of the other was sprawled across his chest, showing bloodstains seeping through white gauze wrapped around it. It was the guy who had been bitten in the hallway while we were escaping.

Tiny lifted me up, despite some protest on my part, and laid me out on one of the empty gurneys. A short, bookish-looking Asian man with thick glasses, who reminded me a great deal of Arnold, came to the bedside. He was pushing an IV drip with saline solution and packaged blood already hooked up.

“Shiarra Waynest, right? I’m Dr. Morrow.”

I tried to keep my eyes open as I returned his warm smile. “Hi.”

“I don’t know if you remember me. I treated you for shock after that fight you had at the Embassy Suites.”

“You did?” I blinked, trying to recall. Everything, from my thoughts to my vision, was hazy. Whatever they put in the tea was working fast.

“Mm-hmm. Just lie back, relax, and I’ll start the transfusion.”

His voice was soothing enough that I did what he said without protest. A pinprick in my arm made me wince, but that was all. I was incredibly tired, but somehow managed to stay awake and listen to Jack and Dr. Morrow talk about me like I wasn’t there.

“Any idea how much blood she lost?”

“No,” the doctor said, sounding concerned. “It must have been a lot to cause such a severe reaction. She’s lucky we had some of her type on ice.”

Jack sighed. “How long before she’s on her feet, do you think?”

“She should have at least four or five days of bed rest. I want to keep an eye on her for a few days in case there are any complications. Don’t push her, Jack. I know what you’re thinking, and she’s not ready for it. Not by a long shot.”

“We’ve had other hunters bitten and up on their feet the next day.”

“Leave it alone. A quick bite is a lot easier to treat and recover from than being drained from a prolonged feeding like this.” Dr. Morrow sounded irritated. It was too hard to open my eyes to see, so I just listened. I could picture the little frown lines appearing between his eyebrows, and found the idea of the smaller man glaring at Jack comical. “A bit more and they might have killed her. Don’t you find it odd that she’s still having a hard time finding her balance even though it’s been hours already? That she practically needed to be carried down the stairs? Trust me on this. She’s not ready for what you want.”

Jack cursed, and I heard the sound of a few pairs of feet tromping away. Devon’s voice surprised me; I would have thought he’d left with the others. “Will she be okay?”

“Yes,” Dr. Morrow said, more tired than annoyed now. “She should be fine given some rest and time to recuperate. I’m just afraid Jack won’t wait that long.”

Devon’s voice followed me into the blessed dark of unconsciousness. “I don’t think any of us can wait that long. We need her.”

Chapter 14

“For the last time, I need to go home!” I shouted, struggling to sit up on the gurney. “People are looking for me!”

“And for the last time, you are staying put! Doctor’s orders!”

Devon was laughing at my efforts to sit up, easily pushing me back down thanks to how weak and shaky I was. I’d swear his eyes were positively twinkling with laughter. The patient with the busted leg was also chuckling, not helping my bruised ego any. The guy who’d had his arm bitten was back on his feet and upstairs with the other hunters, so it was just the three of us down here in the basement.

With a low growl of irritation, I sank back, too exhausted to keep fighting. It was great that someone sawed the chain apart while I was asleep, but I found myself rubbing impatiently at the cuffs locked on my wrists. Feeling the stupid things chafing my skin made me feel trapped, like my brush with death had only been temporarily delayed.

It didn’t help that I felt cut off from my friends and family in this makeshift hospital. Without my cell phone, I didn’t have any phone numbers with me. I was starting to regret not keeping them memorized. I could wait for Jen to get in the office tomorrow morning or somehow get to my computer. There should be an e-mail somewhere with Arnold’s phone number. Sara and Arnold both had Chaz’s number. I should call Officer Lerian, too; the police were undoubtedly looking for me, especially with Royce’s encouragement.

“Look, if you need something that badly, one of us can go pick it up for you.”

I shook my head, making the tape holding gauze over the bite marks crinkle. No way was I going to give anyone connected to the White Hats the passwords to unlock my computer. Even Sara, who is the sister I never had, doesn’t get access to my e-mails.

“What will you tell the police if they’re staking the place out and see you trying to break in? ‘Hi, Officers, just trying to pick up some stuff for the lady who was kidnapped yesterday. Nope, can’t take you back to the White Hat supersecret hideout, where she’s recovering from an unreported vampire assault. So sorry.’ ”

Bo, the guy who had his leg in traction, was laughing heartily. “Admit it, Devon, she’s right. Even you couldn’t charm the cops with that one.”

A lopsided grin curved Devon’s lips while he rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay, okay, I get the point. I guess I can take you there. Dr. Morrow won’t be happy about it, though. Neither will Jack.”

“Jack can kiss my ass.”

“Not a very nice thing to say, missy,” Bo said. “If he hadn’t been keeping an eye on you, there’s a good chance you might be dead right now.”

I shrugged uncomfortably, pulling at a loose string on the button-down shirt I had to borrow from Jack since my T-shirt got trashed with blood stains. “Royce showed up shortly after you guys did. He would’ve gotten me out of there.”

Devon tilted his head to one side, curious. “How is it that you came to be a hunter but still deal with Alec Royce? He’s practically king of the vampires. I’m surprised he lets you live.”

“I’m not a hunter. It’s a long story; I don’t really want to go into it.”

“I’d like to hear that story sometime. How about over coffee next Saturday?”

Well, that was unexpected. Under the circumstances, it was an odd place to be propositioned for a date. Still, it was flattering, and I gave Devon a wry smile, flipping off Bo when he let loose a raucous wolf whistle. “Sorry, Dev, not unless my boyfriend comes with us. He’s the jealous type.”

Bo snickered and threw a minimuffin from his breakfast tray to bounce off the top of Devon’s head. “Ha! Told you she wouldn’t be single. You owe me five bucks!”

Devon sighed and shook his head, shoulders slumped in disappointment obviously feigned to be greater than it was. “Knew you were too good looking to be single.”

I grinned and leaned forward to pick a hunk of banana nut muffin out of his gelled, dark brown spikes. He really was a charmer. Probably a player too, seeing as he wasted little time trying to win me over. “Keep your distance, mister. I’ll let you know if something changes.”

He chuckled and brushed his fingers through his hair. “That’s all I ask. I’d still like to hear that story of yours. Maybe you can tell me the Cliff Notes version in the car.”

“Sure,” I said, accepting his offered hand. Once I stood up, dizziness made me stop for a second to get my balance, but it wasn’t anything like it had been last night. The transfusion and a good night’s sleep, followed by a hearty breakfast with lots of protein, had helped quite a bit. Any lingering feeling of sickness was mild enough that I was no longer worried I might toss my cookies every time I turned my head. The cold from the linoleum tile seeped through my socks, and I hustled as best I could to the stairs.

Bo called out plaintively after us, “Can you at least send Nikki down so I have another pretty lady to talk to? You’re leaving me all by my lonesome.”

Devon held out a supporting arm as we reached the stairs, grinning back at Bo. “Tough it out, you wuss.”

I punched Devon lightly in the arm, smiling. “Don’t worry, Bo, I’ll bring you back some movies and books. We can watch Beaches together when I get back!”

Devon and I cracked up at the horrified look that crossed Bo’s face.

When we got upstairs, most of the other hunters were gone. Nikki, the tall blond who had helped get me downstairs last night, ran into us in the hallway. She looked surprised to see me on my feet. “Hey, good morning. I take it you’re feeling better?”