Bitter Blood (Blood and Moonlight Book 3)(26)

“He’s not dead,” Dr. Bob announced.

Jane saw him finally crawl out from beneath his desk. She glared at the doctor. “We know he’s not dead. He’s undead, that’s the problem. A problem you weren’t helping with.”

“What? What was I supposed to do?” He pointed to his chest. “Human.” He pointed at her. “Super vamp. I knew you could handle a few bites from him.” Dr. Bob brushed off his white lab coat. “But he’s not finished yet, so we need to take his head and end—”

“No!” Jane yelled.

“No!” Annette whispered.

Dr. Bob blinked. “But…he’s a vampire.”

“So am I,” Jane reminded him, like he needed the reminder. “And you didn’t take my head.”

Dr. Bob rubbed his face and looked vaguely guilty. “If you’d come to drain me dry, despite our friendship, I sure would have tried.” His hand fell. “Have you forgotten, Jane? They don’t all rise like you. They come back as mindless beasts, driven to attack. To kill. To drain anyone close to them. You were different because you were—”

“A born vampire.” Annette cut into his words.

Dr. Bob nodded. “Paris isn’t a born vamp. He was a werewolf. He shouldn’t even be a vamp.”

No, he shouldn’t be. “Get his blood,” Jane ordered the doc. “Start running your tests. See what it looks like. If it’s…like a normal vamp’s or if it’s something more.”

But Dr. Bob didn’t move. He stared at her, at Annette, and sympathy flashed on his face. “Do you know what job Paris had just weeks before?”

Jane shook her head.

“He and Aidan would eliminate the vampires that rose in my lab. They’d end them. Take their heads, stake their hearts. A bloody, terrible job that they did because they knew they were giving those poor turned bastards peace. I’ve seen vampires rise, again and again. They’re mindless. They’re monsters. They just want blood and they’d drain the young, the old, anyone who came close to them.” He gave a sad shrug of his shoulders. “When Paris opened his eyes, when he came at you, Jane, he had that same wild look in his gaze. We have the chance to end this all, right now. We can give him peace.”

She looked back at Paris. His blood dripped onto the floor, pooling beneath him. “Peace can wait a bit.” Because I am not ready to give up on him. I can’t. She turned her head to look at Annette. “You got some magic you can do to hold the guy in check until we find out more?”

Annette’s hand went to the bag at her side. She reached her fingers in and pulled out a small doll. “I’m pretty good at controlling the dead.” No emotion was in her voice.

Okay, the lady was just scary when she said stuff like that. “He’s undead,” Jane clarified.

“I’ll be able to control him.” Annette began to sprinkle what looked like dirt around Paris’s body. “For a time.”

Well, that was something.

“He’s not going to…stay here, is he?” Dr. Bob asked nervously. He looked around his makeshift office. “I mean, yeah, it’s the middle of the night now, that’s why no one came running when shots were fired. But people will be here tomorrow. I can’t have some vamp sprawled out in my exam room—”

“I’ll move him by dawn,” Jane promised. She’d find a place to contain him. There had to be a place nearby…Vivian would know of a place.

Aidan would know.

Oh, God. I have to tell Aidan. But…

“Do the blood tests.” Jane nodded briskly. “He shouldn’t have changed. Find out what the hell happened.”

“I will,” Dr. Bob promised. “But you need to talk to someone who understands vamps one hell of a lot more than we do.”

Yes, she did. The problem was that vamps weren’t exactly cooperative. Not friendly at all. Not…

“You know who to contact,” Annette said. She bent and dipped her little doll—not a doll really, more a figure that seemed to be made from sticks—into Paris’s blood. “The vamp who brought you over.” She looked up at Jane, her lips twisting. “Vincent Connor. The vamp that Aidan hates most is the one you need now.” Annette’s eyes had taken on a hazy, distant look. One that was creepy. She usually looked that way when she was peering into her black mirror.

Jane cleared her throat. Her shoulder throbbed where Paris had taken a chunk out of her. “Vincent Connor cut out of town. The guy said he’d guide me, then he split.” Talk about deserting her in her time of need. “Not like he’s going to help me—”

Annette rose. Her fingers brushed over Paris’s hair. “Who told you he left?”

“Uh, Aidan and—”

“Every paranormal in the city knows that Aidan told him to stay the hell away from you…or else Vincent was going to lose his head.”

Jane’s lips parted.

“Well, I guess every paranormal but you knew,” Annette added.

Great.

Annette inclined her head as she continued, “Vincent has been giving you some…space. But he hasn’t left town. He’s still here. He’s been waiting on you.”

Waiting on you. Goosebumps rose on Jane’s arms. “How do you know that?”