The double doors creaked open, and Dr. Vieira came in looking like he’d had a rough night already. His brown hair was disheveled, and he buttoned his lab coat, surveying each of us like he so often did when we showed up in the infirmary after a mission. “Where’s the fire?”
“In my veins,” Ben whined as he stumbled to stand.
Dr. Vieira regarded me. “You look like you’re in one piece.”
I grinned. “Don’t worry about me. I’m a Mason.”
He grabbed Ben’s arm. “I worry about all you Sentinels. And may I remind you that the name means nothing. You can die just as well as the next—”
Tripp’s phone rang, slicing off Dr. Vieira’s words. “It’s Webb.” He tapped the speaker button and set the phone on the glossy black marble top. “I got Sam here.”
Ben and Doc went into a patient room as Ben explained to him what had happened.
“Sam, is there something wrong?” Webb’s exhaustion came through loud and clear. “You’ve been blowing up Jo’s phone. We tried to call you but got your voice mail.”
I shuffled closer to Tripp and his phone. “I had spotty coverage at the club.”
“Sam,” Jo said in a sleepy tone.
Hanging my head, I said a quick prayer of thanks that nothing had happened to her. “Sorry to wake you.”
“What’s so urgent?” she asked.
“Go back to bed. I’ll talk to you in the morning.” My voice cracked on the last word, a rush of emotion consuming me. I would stake my own heart if anything happened to her.
“It is morning,” she teased.
“Go, angel,” Webb said to her. “I’ll be a few minutes.” A rustling noise came through the line then faded before a door closed. “Now, did you get any intel on Roman?” he asked.
“You might want to hear this in person, and you should wake my dad.” He’d returned earlier that day from his council meeting in Boston. My father had been promoted to serve on the Council of Elders. His job was to oversee the vampire military. In turn, Webb had stepped into the commander position, but my dad was heavily involved in what the SEAL team did. “I would rather not keep repeating myself. And it seems we have bigger problems than Roman.”
“Fuck me.” Webb growled before he hung up.
Tripp collected his phone. “I need to check on something in the control room. You and Ben head down to the war room in fifteen minutes.”
I nodded to my superior officer and was about to check on Ben when my phone chirped. “Yeah,” I answered without even looking at the screen to see who was calling.
“You’re a hard vamp to track down.” The man’s voice was brusque and one that I knew.
“Roman. How did you get this number?”
He chuckled, the annoying sound grating on my every nerve. “I have my ways. So, who were the humans?”
I let out a roar of laughter.
“You find that funny?” Roman asked.
“What I find funny is you assuming I would tell you about the humans.” I didn’t know who they were, but I wouldn’t tell him even if I did. All he’d kept talking about after the women had left was how he would hunt them down.
I had no recourse to stop him. Not yet, anyway.
“I’m curious. What did you do to piss off three gorgeous humans whom, I might add, I’m dying to taste?”
I growled low.
“You want a taste too. I saw it in your eyes.”
I wanted more than to sample Layla’s blood. Irritation scraped along my arms. “What do you really want, Roman? I don’t have time for games.”
