“Um. Okay. Sure.”

This shit was weird.

More guards lined the hallway.

They nodded as Cam and Sean passed, boots clomping on the industrial-grade linoleum floor.

“Is security always this tight?” Sean marveled.

“Only when Bastien visits.”

A sardonic laugh floated through an open doorway coming up on their right.

Cam led the way inside what ended up being a large lab with every kind of medical testing equipment a doctor could wish for. The vampire practical jokers appeared to be doing everything they could to burn out the motors on two treadmills placed side by side. A brunet in a lab coat leaned over a desk, writing something in a file while Bastien lounged in a chair nearby, admiring her.

“Dr. Lipton?” Cam said.

Straightening, she turned around. Her furrowed brow cleared as her face brightened with a smile. “Hi, Cam.” Setting her pen down, she crossed to them and offered Sean her hand. “We weren’t formally introduced last night. I’m Melanie. You’re Sean, right?”

He smiled and shook her hand. “Yes.”

“So nice to meet you.” She motioned to the vampires. “Those two are Cliff and Stuart. Cliff’s on the left,” she said, indicating the grinning African American. “Stuart’s on the right.” Both vampires’ legs moved so quickly that they blurred, while their upper bodies remained almost stationary. It was a bizarre effect. “And this is my husband Bastien,” she finished.

Sean nodded to Bastien and offered his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

Face darkening, Bastien rose. “What—are you fucking with me?”

Melanie’s eyes widened. Reaching out, she patted Bastien’s arm. “No, honey. I think he hasn’t heard the rumors yet.”

“What rumors?” Sean asked, wondering what was going on.

Bastien’s face cleared. “Oh. Well. Good to meet you, too.” He belatedly shook Sean’s hand.

Cam rolled his eyes. “I’m out. Sean, you have my number. Call me when you’re ready to leave and I’ll come pick you up.”

Sean thanked him, even though the fact that he couldn’t come and go as he pleased grated. He had no idea what the network had done with his car, but he wasn’t allowed to use it anymore because it could be traced. When he had suggested borrowing or renting a car, Chris had rejected the idea, saying, “I know it’s an annoyance, but until we get to the bottom of this latest mercenary threat, we need to restrict your movements and ensure you have a guard with you at all times. It’s for both your safety and ours.”

Annoyance didn’t quite cover it.

Cam left.

Sean looked at the vampires. “What exactly will this tell you? Are you testing their endurance?” he asked, curious to know what such activity would indicate.

Melanie snorted. “No. They’re just fooling around. Cliff bet Stuart he could go faster on a treadmill.”

The vampires grinned.

“Okay.”

Bastien smiled. “They aren’t allowed to leave the premises, so things can get pretty boring around here for them.”

“They’re really vampires and not immortals just messing with me?” Sean asked. The pair didn’t seem at all crazy.

Bastien shook his head. “They’re vampires. And, since you’ll hear it sooner or later . . .”

Melanie shook her head violently and repeatedly drew her hand across her throat in a slicing motion. When she noticed Sean watching her, she smiled and pretended she was scratching her neck.

“Until a couple of years ago,” Bastien continued, “I thought I was a vampire myself, raised an army of a hundred or so vampires, and waged war with the Immortal Guardians, intending to kill every last one of them.”

Sean stared at him. No wonder the other immortals had seemed rather hostile toward Bastien at the meeting.

“Damn it, Bastien,” Melanie complained. “We could have finally had someone on our side, but, nooooo. You had to go and open your mouth.”

He shrugged. “May as well be honest. It sounds a lot less damaging coming from me.” He looked at Sean again. “Oh, and I once killed an immortal.”

Melanie hit him on the arm. “Stop talking!”

Sean laughed. As did the vampires.

She smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. He really is a good guy. But I’m having trouble convincing the others of that.”

“Well, you won’t be getting any grief from me,” Sean assured her. When Bastien looked doubtful, Sean shrugged. “I’m new to this world and not invested in its past. As long as you don’t screw with me or my sister, I’m fine with you.”

Bastien raised his eyebrows. “I think I like you.”

“Gay!” Stuart called breathlessly. A loud clunk sounded as the motor of his treadmill let out a burst of smoke and stopped turning. Still running at top speed, Stuart slammed into the front of the treadmill, bounced off, and hit the wall behind him hard enough to crack the Sheetrock.

Cliff burst into laughter and slowed to a halt.

Melanie sighed. “I told you not to break anything!”

Stuart groaned and picked himself up off the floor, staggering a little. “Laugh it up, asswipe,” he told Cliff. “I won.”

“Dude, I totally let you win because I knew that would happen.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“Yes, I did. It happened to me the first time Dr. Lipton put me on a treadmill.”

Melanie winced. “I still feel bad about that.”

Cliff didn’t seem to hold it against her.

Bastien smiled. “Cliff was a member of my army. Stuart is a new recruit.”

This was not at all what Sean had expected.

Melanie smiled. “You look a little shell-shocked.”

He watched Cliff taunt Stuart while Stuart brushed the dust off his clothes and shook it out of his hair. “I’ve never encountered sane vampires before.”

“Well, hopefully our research will pay off and the era of psychotic vampires will end soon,” she said.

“I’d love to hear about the work you’re doing. I’m a medical student at Duke and Chris mentioned recruiting me. He said, if I did, we’d be working together and you’d mentor me.”

She nodded. “Are you considering it?”

“Yes.”

“Excellent!” Grinning, she started toward him.

Bastien scowled. “Hug him and I’ll have to kill him.”

She stopped and blew him a raspberry. “Spoilsport.”

“A jealous spoilsport.” Bastien drew her into his arms. “It’s time for me to hunt.”

“Okay. Do you have the antidote on you?”

“Yes.”

She bussed his lips. “Be safe.”

“Always.” He claimed her lips in a kiss that lingered. “I almost forgot. I have a surprise for you.” Crossing to a coat stand just inside the door, he removed a long, black coat. The interior was lined with as many weapons as Etienne’s was.

Delving into an outer pocket, Bastien returned to Melanie and held out several small packages.

Melanie took one and turned it over. “No way! Organic chocolate turtles?”

He nodded and smiled.

Whooping with excitement, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist for a tight hug.

Bastien laughed and hugged her back.

As soon as she dropped her feet to the floor, she tore into the first package and popped the whole candy into her mouth. Her eyes closed in ecstasy. “Oh man,” she said around a mouthful of chocolate. “This is so good.”

Sean raised his eyebrows.

Meeting his gaze, she covered her mouth and laughed.

Bastien shook his head with a smile and crossed his arms over his chest.

She chewed and swallowed. “I haven’t been immortal that long and had to give up all of my favorite foods, so I’ve been craving them like crazy.”

“Why did you have to give up all of your favorite foods?”

“Because none of them were organic. Our stupid sense of taste is just as heightened as our vision and our sense of smell. And, trust me when I say, foods that contain artificial flavoring and other synthetic chemicals do not taste the same as the real deal. As Bastien once warned me, vanilla and synthetic vanillin taste as different to us as turkey and tofurky do to you.” She stuffed another chocolate turtle in her mouth and endeavored to speak around it. “Bastien’s been looking for organic alternatives to some of my favorites and I love turtles.”

Laughing, Bastien cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. “You are too adorable.” He kissed her again, longer and deeper. “You taste good, too.”

Her cheeks flushed as he released her.

Bastien nodded at Sean. “Have fun.” He pointed to the vampires. “You two . . . behave. And leave Melanie’s candy alone. She can kick your ass without a thought now.”

Cliff and Stuart clicked their heels together and saluted.

Shaking his head, Bastien left.

Melanie wadded up the empty packages and tossed them into a wastebasket on the other side of the room.

“Nice,” Sean praised with a smile.

“Thanks. I imagine you have some questions.”

“About a hundred of them.”

Smiling, she motioned to a couple of chairs over by a desk. “What would you like to know first?”

He waited for her to sit, then seated himself beside her. “Well, I’ve always wanted to know why I can heal with my hands.”

She dropped the rest of the candy packages on the desk and leaned forward, her face lighting with interest. “You can heal with your hands?”

He nodded.

“That’s wonderful. Two gifted ones who are descendants of a powerful healer just came to our attention recently, but neither can heal with their hands.”

Cliff dragged a chair over to join them. “So, you can just lay hands on a wound and heal it?” He sat down. “That’s so cool. I wish I could do that.”