What I knew of Roman had only been on paper. He was quite intelligent. He held several degrees in chemistry, law, and business. He’d worked for a pharmaceutical company that made one of the raw ingredients in some drug used in operating rooms. However, seeing him in the flesh gave me a newfound hunger to take him down. He reminded me so much of Edmund Rain that I was ready to snap his neck before ripping his head off.
“You realize they’ll be calling you for your help, don’t you?”
He was right. I was the only one who could bring Layla’s sister out of the compelling spell. “I’m not telling you anything about them. Is that the main reason you called?” Surely he knew I wouldn’t give him that info.
A horn sounded in the background.
“Did you know that your DNA is worth millions?”
I rolled my eyes. “So? Are you targeting me for your own scheming ways?” As head of a blood syndicate, his motives were money and power.
“Nah,” he said casually. “I found someone who is worth more than you.”
“Yeah? Who?” I knew he wouldn’t tell me, but I had to ask anyway. However, if he named my sister, I wouldn’t follow military protocol or the vampire government’s edicts.
“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk, Mason.” His tone held that you-know-better-than-to-ask attitude.
“Get to the fucking point already.”
It was too late to trace the call. By the time I called down to the control room, Roman would be gone.
“I’m giving you forewarning,” he said. “First one who gets to the humans gets to taste their sweet, savory human blood.”
I pushed my fingers through my hair, and the strap fell out. “And what did I tell you about touching the humans?”
“Since you’re tailing me, then you should know I don’t follow the law.”
“You called to goad me?”
“Just taking your temperature, Mason.” Then he was gone.
I had to get to Layla before Roman did. Otherwise, I might not get the chance to find out why she wanted me or who she was working for. More importantly, her life was at stake.
5
SAM
By the time I entered the theater-style war room, Tripp and Webb were huddled near the long conference table at the bottom in front of a giant movie screen.
Ben grumbled as he lagged behind me at a slow pace. Luckily for Ben, he would make a full recovery thanks to his vampire side.
“Doc said to keep drinking water to flush your system,” I tossed over my shoulder.
Doc didn’t have a fast-acting remedy, but he’d taken Ben’s blood to send to our lab in Boston to identify what substances the humans had used. The symptoms Ben had didn’t align with the endotoxin that some of our team members had been victim to years back. It didn’t exactly mimic the drug Edmund Rain had used to subdue vampires either.
Until we knew more, we had to be on high alert.
“The burning isn’t as bad,” Ben said, “but I feel like I could sleep for a week.”
I chuckled, the sound echoing in the ample space and bouncing off the high ceilings. “I’m ready to kick back with a case of beer.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Ben returned.
Webb flicked his chin at me as I approached. He looked like death in his jeans and scrappy T-shirt. It was rare to find him in anything but his uniform or to see the dark circles beneath his vibrant blue eyes. Since his promotion to SEAL commander, he’d been busting his butt nonstop. It was a position he’d tried to get out of, but my old man had insisted he take it.
“You look like shit,” I said to Webb.
“I can’t believe you talk to him like that.” Ben winced in pain.
